Haunting Embers
by NarutoSkully
Summary: Naruto, a construction worker assigned to renovate an old school building, tries to stop the terrors that come from the eerie atmostphere of the school while keeping his friends and his fiancé, Sasuke, safe. Character Death, Violence, and Yaoi. NaruSasu
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not or will I ever own Naruto. (even if i wanna)

A/N: Finally chapter fucking one of this hooker. 8l My writing muse was constantly stabbing at me, whipping me. It was rough Dx Well at least my drawing muses are allowed to leave their cages now 8D I missed you guys -snuggles them-  
I based the school in this off an actual location, that i've broken into;;;

Warnings: NaruSasu(**YAOI**) undertones. Tons 'o' **Character Death**. I tend to like to get more violent with my descriptions of some things, so there's that: **VIOLENCE** fff. For you pervs, there WILL be some sexytiem

Hopefully it's horror-worthy? I tend to scoff at my own attempts at fear-inducing shet since i'm not easily scared myself. Enjoy yourselves. Critiques appreciated. 3

* * *

A sigh left the blond's lips as he finally drove up onto the gravel on the side of the small road. He put his Honda Civic in park and turned off the engine before opening the door and slipping from the vehicle. He leaned back in to pull his cell phone from the charger and slid it into his front pocket. Then he grabbed his clipboard, thumbing through the mix of scribbled-on and cleanly printed pages to make sure he had everything that the owner had sent him.

Naruto backed up out of the car, slamming the door shut then stretching his arms over his head as he looked around. Today was cloudy and there was a light, chill wind, but there wasn't supposed to be any rain, which was good. The gray light cast a chilled veil through the surroundings but in reality, the atmosphere was quite warm. He ran a hand through his hair and turned to look at the old rundown apartments that were on the opposing side of the road. It was amazing that people still lived over there in the crumbling (probably rodent-infested), old rooms, but that wasn't his site.

Blue eyes now focused on what would be his project for the coming months. An early 1900s all-grades school loomed over his small car. The building was three stories tall, made of almost all brick. There were large parts that had fallen from it, leaving gaping holes in both the walls and the roof. The papers he got told him that it was closed almost forty years ago once the new building was built and was boarded up ten years later when a cult used it as the location for their massive suicide ritual. Then, only eight years ago, an arsonist set fire to the building. A large chunk was ruined before the firefighters could save it. Naruto's job was to clean up the half that was still usable and turn it into a building for the art department of a nearby university.

Personally, he thought the whole thing should be knocked down so they could start anew, but the voters had wanted the traditional buildings that still remained around town to be preserved as much as possible. They mentioned something about holding onto the city's heritage. Whatever the old farts wanted, as long as he got paid for doing his job.

He adjusted the cap on his head, which kept his usually messy blond locks under some control, and strolled along the scraggly excuse for a lawn. He yawned and ran his fingers through the sparse hairs on the back of his neck before greeting one of his teammates and longtime best friend, Inuzuka Kiba. "Hey, man, have a nice journey?" Naruto asked slowly. The two had just been driving for hours from their hometown to come to this place. They were staying with their other friend, Haruno Sakura, who happened to live nearby since she was currently studying for her nursing degree at the university that wanted this building made useful again.

"Just as boring as most of the others that we have to take for this damn job," the brunet replied with a small grin. They were two of the supervisors for the project of renovating the old building and had to get here early to get a good "tour" of the place so that they got to connect experience to the nice little drawings that were in their files. It also helped to clear up many things that seemed vague for what the people wanted out of this structure.

So far the other people hadn't showed which was surprising since usually Naruto was the latest one. He didn't try to be, it just always happened that way, Sasuke teased him about that a lot.

"Man, this place is gonna be tough," Naruto sighed, leaning against one of the outside walls of the building. "It looks ready to fall at any second." He snorted and nodded his head to one of the exterior frameworks that was helping to hold up the massive walls to what the plans said was the "auditorium." He was almost worried that simply leaning against one of the walls may cause it to fall over.

Kiba turned and chuckled lightly as his eyes traveled over what he could see of the building. "Yeah, we have our work cut out for us this time. I think we can do it though. We've got a good team this time." The brunet grinned at Naruto and shifted his weight, boots crunching in the gravel that was by the building.

Both young men turned when they heard another car drive up, followed shortly by another one. "Finally," Naruto said, pushing himself off the wall, "Now we can get this damn show on the road."

A decently dressed man appeared from the first car as well as a more casually dressed one. The second car held Kiba and Naruto's head honcho, Sarutobi Asuma. Asuma was a big guy. Broad shoulders, wide chest, though not Mr. Universe material, he was still pretty intimidating to be around. The man shut his door and took a drag from his cigarette. He was rarely seen without one.

The three new guests all converged around the two young men and the nicer dressed man spoke first. He was fairly tall and very lean, he reminded Naruto of a young tree. He had slicked-back, ebony hair and he wore small circular shades on his nose. "It's nice to see you all made it here okay. I was just talking to Mr. Sarutobi here at the Waffle House down the road. Sorry if we were a little late." He gave a chortling laugh while Asuma muttered in the background to remind the man to just call him 'Asuma,' "We seemed to have lost track of time."

Naruto pulled on a grin, before offering his hand. The guy was a little weird, but he seemed easy enough to get along with. "Hi, the name's Uzumaki Naruto and this here is my assistant supervisor, Inuzuka Kiba." The blond said with a firm shake of the man's hand, jerking his head sideways to indicate the brunet at his side.

"Ah, nice to meet you both." The man started, shaking Kiba's hand next who nodded in return. "My name's Ebisu and this is my assistant, Hayate." The man pushed up his small shades and gestured his hand to the side to show the other man.

Hayate stepped forward, clinging to his clipboard and small stack of papers with one arm as he raised the other in a short greeting, "Hey." His voice cracked before he brought up his hand to cover the small fit of coughs that came afterward. The man stood about the same height as Ebisu, he had shoulder-length hair that looked to not be brushed that often and had a generally average build. His most prominent feature though, were the deep purple circles around his eyes, almost like the guy hadn't had sleep in months.

A wheat-colored brow raised as Naruto eyed the other male. "Oh, he's always like this. He takes medicine daily for his allergies," Ebisu said with a dismissive wave of his hand. Apparently, this guy liked to speak for other people without their consent. "Anyways, shall we?" The dark-haired man turned towards the building, indicating they should follow along.

Naruto turned to Kiba who shrugged and followed after the weird guy and his immune-deficient assistant. The blond also followed, slipping his hands into his pockets, turning to regard his boss. "This guy's pretty fun, huh?" he asked the taller man with a nervous chuckle.

"Mm, I guess," was Asuma's gruff reply. "He grates on your nerves after a while though."

The grin that Naruto had managed to maintain grew. It always pleased him to have a little conversation with the other; he was his boss after all. However, he decided he'd walk alongside Kiba rather than the bulkier dark-haired male. Boss or not, Kiba was just more fun to be around and the blond had to admit he was nervous of screwing up around the Sarutobi.

"This area here is the foyer," Ebisu started, his voice ringing slightly as it bounced off the dilapidated walls. He sounded much like a realtor and the blond idly wondered if that had anything to do with his profession.

Naruto craned his neck once he had entered past the crumbling doorway, looking around at the area they were in, with mild awe.

It reminded him of something he'd seen in a scary movie once. The walls had already been worn from age, and they had large burned areas and were covered in filth and ash from the fire and just years of existing. The floor was also encrusted with a thick layer of the ash and other debris and it crunched under their feet. He had prepared himself with a mental image of what was to come when he entered, but he hadn't truly expected any of this.

There were three staircases from this room. One to his right that went upstairs with one adjacent to it that went down to what appeared to be the basement and then there was one right beside him at his left that also went up to the second floor. There were two large doorways that might have lead to different walkways around the auditorium, but now they both led into a large open space, littered with a few of the chairs that had survived the years and abuse that the building had suffered.

All of this was lit with what light could seep through the holes in the roof before Ebisu pulled out his flashlight as he turned back to the group. "I suppose we'll start downstairs, then? Work our way up?" His voice was a sharp contrast to the atmosphere of where they were.

Naruto and Kiba were the only ones to speak up. A "Yeah sure," and a "Sounds good," coming from each respectively. Asuma only replied with a grunt, tapping the ash from his cigarette as he did.

Ebisu nodded with a cheery smile and clicked on his flashlight before leading them to the only set of stairs that went down.

All five of them had to pick their way carefully down the cement steps as the piles of ash made it unsteady. They all gathered around as Ebisu paused to shine his flashlight down the shallow hallway, illuminating the rows of doorways that led into other rooms. At the end there was a boarded up open area that led to the outside. The opening on the end was completely opposite to a hole in the wall in the foyer, creating a deterioration-caused breezeway.

"This down here is mainly where they taught the younger students. We thought this'd be a nice place for a couple of drawing studios or so," the man grinned and started down the hall, explaining the purpose of each room with great vigor.

Naruto ignored the man for the most part. He'd already read the plans for the rooms, he had just come to see this for himself before he actually began his work. He always liked to get a preliminary view of what he was doing before he actually got to it. It helped him visualize things the night before so he saved time when showing his team members what to do. He silently memorized the area, his eyes traveling along the walls, trying to follow the flashlight so that he could get a better view of what he was looking at.

He stopped in front of what led into the small play area. A row of columns, with the name "Treasure Trove" painted in modestly disfigured letters adorning the top, led the way to a small step and then a mildly large, open area. From what he could see from the low light, there were still some surviving shelves and a couple of what could have been toys scattered across the room. The look of something that used to hold so much life, now so decrepit and lifeless gave Naruto the creeps and he could feel his skin tingle, threatening to rise in goosebumps.

Turning away, the blond caught up to where the others had stepped down into one of the rooms near the end of the hall. He wasn't a wimp or anything; he just didn't find it a good idea to be left alone in a building like this. Something could fall on him or he, himself, could fall and get injured or something like that, y'know?

He took the small steps that led down into a bigger room than Naruto was expecting. The blond stepped up to where the others were grouped around Ebisu again, Kiba glancing back and giving his friend a snort and a short shake of his head before turning back. Their tour guide was now stepping into what used to be a small bathroom area where there were misplaced shelves amidst the surviving stalls.

They finished with the downstairs and headed back up to the foyer and up the stairs. The ones that sat side-by-side to the steps they had just taken down. According to the papers and Ebisu, the other stairs, that led upward, led nowhere since the ceiling had caved in on them, blocking the way. Not that it really mattered, the upper floor was all connected so they were able to get to what was over on that side anyway.

They didn't bother with the rooms on the one side since they were all classrooms for the higher grades. Ebisu explained in a singsong voice, "Once you've seen one, you've seen them all." Instead they were led into the middle of the building where it opened up into a large hall with rooms opening up out of it along the walls. There was scaffolding set up next to a large crumbling hole in the wall to keep the above floor from crashing down. Looking out, you could see down into the auditorium below. Though Naruto didn't bother to get to close to check it out, being he wasn't too sure about the hardiness of this floor.

The room held a small gym, wooden floor. There were a couple of columns to hold up the above floor, but it was obvious they weren't enough as the ceiling warped downwards in some areas. The bunch was again choosing their footing carefully since this floor was wood and the concrete that had held it steady had crumbled away in some areas, falling down to the floor below. "Please watch your step, gentlemen," echoed Ebisu's cheery voice, the statement almost useless since most had already decided they didn't want to chance crashing through a random weak spot in the floor.

"I think this area needs the most work. I'm sure you men already decided that on your own though, right?" the man with the flashlight continued with a small laugh. "I think we'll keep walking this way. There's just more classrooms here in this wooden-floor area. This way to the third floor." He finished his statement with a sweeping-arm gesture to the stairs that could be seen peeking around the corner. Hayate cleared his throat.

The others continued to follow Ebisu, but the blond stuck around the gym floor. His eyes were trained on one of the darker rooms. Something that he was sure had glinted, did so again and he squinted, trying to catch what it was. He quickly turned his head to where the others had disappeared, the flashlight gone with them. _So that couldn't be it._

Naruto edged along the floor. The boards creaked gently beneath each footfall, but his ears were ignoring those sounds to focus on anything that came from the room he was nearing. He tilted his head sideways, blocking some of the dim light that came from the other room so he could watch for the source of the winking light he had seen.

The phrase "Curiosity killed the cat," came to mind, but the blond didn't turn away. He was too drawn in by finding out exactly what it was to think about stuff like cliché phrases and consequences right now.

As he neared the room, his skin started prickling again as it had when they were downstairs. Pulse rising. Eyes were dilated wide, trying to drink in everything from the pitch-blackness. All senses were spiked. The scents of ash and ancient mustiness stung his nostrils. Air was harder to draw in by nostrils alone. He parted his lips, panting lightly. The taste of burnt dust settled on his taste buds, enhancing the smell.

The blond paused, letting out a soft, silent huff of air before he prepared to actually enter the room. Even with his sight set on as optimum as it could get, it was still as if Naruto was entering an abyss. His stomach felt like it wanted to crash through his intestines at the thought of the grimly cruel metaphor.

His eyes darted around, a warning going off in his head as soon as he stepped foot into the room. The floor was again the hard cement that was located in the majority of the building, but the blond couldn't feel less secure, even if his feet were. A tiny voice at the back of his head was still questioning why he had to come over here in the first place, but he ignored it and took a few more careful steps in.

A chill shot up his spine at the sound of what could have been a rasping breath. No, there's no way. He and the others were the only ones in this building. He hadn't read of any homeless people taking residence in here either. It had to be his imagination, but he had to be sure.

"Uh...is there anyone..in here?" his voice came out way smaller and shakier than he wanted and he immediately wished he hadn't said anything at all when all he was met with was silence. _You should've known._

Panic rang out in his mind against his will as he tried to clear his head to decide what to do now. He wasn't even sure what he was scared _of_. Then another sound reminded him that yes, _that_ was what he was frightened of. Those noises that he shouldn't be hearing, but that he was. It had to be his mind playing tricks on him. The wind. Something. He shivered as a cold chill danced along his body much like the cold fingers that could reach ou---... _There is no need to let your imagination go wild_.

Then Naruto shot forward what he swore was fifty feet as he felt something firm clasp his shoulder (a momentary thought back to those icy claw like fingers), a loud, raw shout escaping his throat, his heart wanting to burst from his chest. In seconds he was on the other side of the room and facing the opposite direction he had when he came in to find...Kiba staring at him with a look of slight shock (maybe worry too) on his face.

"Dude, what's up with you?" the brunet asked unsurely, hand still up in the air from where he had touched Naruto's shoulder. "We've already looked over the third floor. We came back through to go down into the auditorium and I saw you sneaking around in here."

The blond couldn't find words at the moment, he was too busy gulping in the oxygen he'd lost from the adrenaline rush he'd just had. Instead he just huffed air out, trying to form syllables with it. "H'I...h'was...just....I..saw something.." he forced out, his body slowly starting to relax as he forced it to.

He cleared his throat before straightening from where he'd been slouched in a defensive stance. "Y-yeah, but...it was nothing," Naruto said before swallowing hard.

"Uh..okay then. Well you need to get your ass downstairs. The auditorium's kind of a big deal, y'know," the brunet dropped his arm and folded it with his other in front of him before tilting his head slightly to eye his friend. "Try to calm your ass down though. Dunno what's gotten you so riled up."

Naruto shakily raised a hand to lift his cap up, the other hand sifting through golden locks just as nervously. "Mmy-yeah. I dunno either, but yeah, I'll be down there in a second. Lemme catch my breath."

Kiba nodded before turning and leaving, Naruto leaving the room not too long after him, not wanting to be left alone in that room. _What the fuck are you so scared of?_ There wasn't anything rational to be afraid about. Still, he didn't take another look back at the room as he left it.

"Ahh, there they are. We were about to go on without you," came Ebisu's high voice when the two descended the stairs. He clasped his hands together, Hayate having taken control of the flashlight by now. "Now we'll go into the auditorium."

A small smile quirked at the blond's lips; that guy's voice could be really comforting sometimes, but it still stung his ears.

They traveled into the high-vaulting room and Naruto couldn't help but let his head fall back as he looked up into the collapsing balcony seats and up even higher into the speckled holes in the crumbling roof.

"Try not to swallow anything," Kiba joked, shoving the blond lightly as he passed. Naruto snorted and shoved the brunet back before dodging a chair that he had almost run into.

"I do believe _this_ room needs to become _much_ smaller, don't you agree? What are art students supposed to do with an auditorium?" Ebisu said, voice ringing out and echoing loudly in the large area.

Naruto decided he didn't like this room. He didn't like how open it was. He didn't like the dark corners. Had he been alone, he would have already quickly left it. It was way worse than the other one upstairs. Yes, he full-heartedly agreed that it needed to be smaller.

He edged up closer to the group as he looked around, wanting to leave the gigantic room as soon as possible. He was already skittish from the run-in before and he was trying to hide his unnerved state as suavely as he could. Though, he didn't know how much longer he could keep this act up.

There was just something about the unknown that freaked Naruto the fuck out. Were he face to face with the barrel of a gun, he could handle that much better than being stuck in a pitch-black auditorium, the ancient, decaying curtains hanging off to the sides of the stage like massive specters waiting for their prey.

"I do believe that ends our little tour, gentlemen," Ebisu said after another long explanation had ended, that Naruto had again ignored, focusing on the curtains again (mainly what could be behind them.) "Are there any questions before I leave you to your work for these few, fine months? Of course, if you can't think of any now, it's not the last time you'll see me." His laugh was as chipper as ever. _He amuses himself well_, the blond thought with a grin.

"I think I'm good here," Naruto spoke up, almost immediately; he wanted the fuck out of this gaping room,

Asuma gave a grunt in agreement.

"Yeah, I've had enough of this place for today," Kiba said, finishing up the other two's thoughts.

"Well, well then. I'm looking forward to seeing what you men and your associates do with the place." Ebisu said before leading the way out of the building. He had a certain saunter to his step that wasn't there before.

Once outside, the men said their goodbyes, gave appropriate handshakes, and all got into their respective vehicles before driving off, save for a blond and brunet.

"So, man, what'd you see in there that got you so freaked out?" Kiba asked, coming up beside the blond from behind.

Naruto turned to eye his friend then turned his gaze back to where he was walking, "I dunno. I just thought I saw somethin,'" the blond rubbed at the back of his neck as he replied.

"Okay, dude. Well, I guess take care til I see you for dinner then," the brunet said with a grin, patting Naruto on the shoulder before getting into his Toyota. "Try not to piss your pants while we're workin on this, huh?" Kiba added with a grin, chuckling as the blond replied with his middle finger before getting into his own car.

"I'll see you later," Naruto waved and slammed his door. Kiba drove off and the blond started his car, leaving soon after.

Naruto was heading towards the nearby hardware store. He had lost his old pair of gloves a few days ago and needed to pick up another. There was no way he was going to supervise the renovation of that school with bare hands, there were screws and nails and tons of other sharp objects that could easily stab right through his palms. No need to go get those pain-in-the-ass tetanus shots if you didn't have to.

He figured he should call his fiancé and catch him up on things while he drove. Naruto lifted his cell phone with one hand and punched the call button to pull up his recent calls. He glanced down as he scrolled to 'Sasuke' and hit the call button again, bringing the phone up to his ear. He let the phone ring, tapping on the steering wheel with his free hand as he was stopped by a red light.

After a while of no pick-up, Naruto furrowed his brows and hung up. _That's_ _funny_, Usually the Uchiha picked up the phone on the second ring. He shrugged and set the phone down in one of his car's built-in drink holders. Maybe he was in the shower or cooking dinner or something.

* * *

Naruto set his new gloves down on the smooth dresser on his way in to the guest bedroom and then went to sprawl out on the bed. The house was built for multiple college roommates, but the Harunos paid for their daughter to live in it alone so Sakura had a couple of rooms to spare when her friends had called her, looking for a place to stay during their career's new project.

He could hear Sakura in the kitchen making dinner, like she promised she would for the two young men on their first night there. The television murmured in the living room, Kiba set up comfortably on the couch in front of it.

He jerked when he felt his phone go off and he dug it from his pocket, flipping it open and bringing it up to his ear. The caller ID had read 'Sasuke.' Sasuke was the blond's fiancé for almost a year and lover for at least five before that. Naruto never was any good with remembering dates.

"Hey, baby," the blond greeted. "Why didn't you answer your phone earlier?"

A small flustered huff was the blond's greeting before a sigh of annoyance. "I was called into work. Someone called in sick. I knew you were busy, did you not get my text?" Sasuke said and then Naruto heard the rustle of sheets.

Naruto grinned and bent his arm behind his head, leaning back on the pillows, "Ah, I see. I figured you were just busy." He pulled his phone down and went to his text messaging inbox before pulling the phone back up, "No, no text messages. Maybe I'll get it later when I turn my phone off and back on since it likes to be retarded like that. Did you have an okay day?"

"Mmm.." Sasuke made a small noise. "Just played for a bit before getting called in... other than some fucktard trying to tell me how to do _my_ job, I guess it was alright. I need to eat and shower still." Sasuke paused and shuddered playfully, "People germs."

"M'sorry about those asstards that mess with you, I'd take care of him if I was there. Then we could shower together in celebration," the blond snickered. "I wish I was there, but this job is gonna have me over here for a bit. I promise to visit as soon as I get a break, okay?"

"Mmm, I'd like that shower right now. And you owe me, you took the mutt too, I'm 100% down in the entertainment department here." Naruto could hear the smirk in his fiancé's voice, the other knowing he would give him a massage in the shower which would possibly lead to other relaxing (entertaining) activities. "How did the walk through go?" Sasuke continued, "Is it as bad as you thought it would be?"

"It went alright. I got a lil spooked in the middle of it, but the place itself is damn creepy. It was nice seeing it though before we actually started work even if I think it'd be better off knocked down. I dunno why they insist on keeping it." Naruto scratched at his scalp absentmindedly as he went on, he had tossed his cap to the side upon entering the room, "The owner guy was really nice and chipper too. The kind of person you'd hate," he snorted.

Sasuke snorted in return. "I'm sure he had that lovely sing-songy tone too, didn't he?" Naruto knew that the Uchiha's boss had that same tone and that it annoyed him to no end. "Creepy? What happened?" Sasuke shifted and Naruto guessed he was getting undressed from work, probably having called him as soon as he got home.

"I dunno really. I just saw this weird thing shining in this room and like as soon as I got in there, it was freezing. My hair was standing on end and I was just so freaked out. Kiba barely even touched me and I ran across the room," he snorted at himself, realizing how ridiculous he'd acted. "I was fine afterwards though."

"Mmm.." Sasuke knew that Naruto wasn't easily scared, but at the same time knew the blond had a fierce imagination sometimes. Sasuke, on the other hand, thought logically on things, and usually didn't like jumping to conclusions. "No flashlights or anything?" The raven was skeptical, but with proper evidence, he could be convinced.

"Nope, I even checked to see that for myself. The rest of the group was upstairs when I saw it, same with their flashlight. I didn't have a light on me since the building was dim enough that I could kinda see."

"Mmm.." Another thoughtful hum. "Check it out when it's light out before you jump to any conclusions, Alright?" The other said and the blond gave an affirmative hum in reply.

"Okay, I will."

After barely a moment of silence, "What are you up to now?" Sasuke nearly purred into the phone.

"Not much, cupcake, since it's about dinner time," Naruto purred back, toeing off his shoes and kicking them off the end of the bed. "Just layin' on my bed, talkin' to you."

"Wish you were here on _our_ bed." Sasuke teased, it was his own way of telling his lover that he missed him, but Naruto knew that the raven understood that the job he was on was important for them both, and on the other hand, Sasuke had ensured he'd be fine while the blonde was gone anyway. "You're missing the show."

Naruto chuckled low and was about to reply, but he heard Sakura call both of the boys for dinner. "Be there in a second," he called back, moving the phone from his mouth to save his fiancé's ear. "Hey, I need to go eat. I'll call you later, mkay? I love you."

"Hopefully she doesn't spoil you, I already have a hard time keeping up with your stomach." Sasuke teased more. "Alright, I'll have my phone on me." Sasuke was probably in the bathroom, his voice echoing slightly off the tiled walls. "I love you. Later, Dobe."

"Bye, sexy." Naruto said before clipping his phone shut and putting it in his pocket as he stood. He peeled off the polo he was wearing, leaving on the T-shirt that was beneath it and walked from the guest room, absently envisioning what his dark-haired lover would be doing soon.

Kiba was already sitting at the table with his food, helping himself. Sakura was in the kitchen still, making her own plate. "Just grab a plate and get whatever you want," she said cheerily, placing a roll with her other things and going to the table as well. "I bought some cokes while I was out today too; they're already in the fridge and cold for you." She sat down in her chair and scooted it closer to the table.

"Thanks," Naruto said, opening up the cabinet to grab one of the plastic, colorful plates. He went across the counter, picking up his food (avoiding the vegetables for the most part) and then pulled a can of coke from the refrigerator before setting the things on the table. He turned and went back to get some silverware before finally sitting down at the table, ready to eat.

"Oh, it's no problem," Sakura replied after swallowing her mouthful of food. She looked over at the brunet then Naruto, about to say something to start a conversation, but then stopped herself. Her first choice probably wouldn't have been a very good decision.

They ate together, a few random conversations coming up about Naruto and Kiba's job or Sakura's classes. A conversation even came up about the weather and lasted longer than the three thought it would.

"It was really cloudy today," the brunet spoke up, swallowing his roll. "Think it'll rain? Man, that'd be a huge downer on going into work. Hopefully they get the tarps up over the roof soon to keep the water out when we start this shi—stuff." Kiba censored himself, catching the look he got from the girl sitting next to him.

"I don't think so. At least, the weather guy said it wouldn't, but you never can really trust them, can ya?" the blond replied, buttering his own roll.

Sakura cleared her throat before she spoke up, "Well, I think they're right this time. If it was going to rain, it would have already, wouldn't it? It's been cloudy for a while now. You guys just got here so you didn't see it yesterday."

"Mm yeah, you're righ'," Naruto agreed, taking a bite of his chicken.

"Well if worse comes to worst, at least it might wash out that spook, huh?" Kiba interjected, giving the blond to his side a rough nudge in the shoulder with his elbow.

Naruto just glared back, taking a more violent bite off of his meat. "Just drop it, I was just jumpy about being in a new building, tha'sall."

Sakura giggled lightly to herself, trying to cover it with her mouth. The blond still noticed it though and turned a lightened version of his glare to her as well and the conversation carried on as thus.

Kiba finished first, Naruto soon after, Sakura still had a bit on her plate to go though she probably wouldn't finish it, "So, who were you on the phone with?" the brunet asked, pushing his plate away from him and wiping at his mouth with his napkin. He gave a satisfied sigh and folded his arms over his chest.

The blond went to twirl his engagement ring around his finger, like he always did when Sasuke was brought up (the ring had come as a pair with the one that Naruto had given to the Uchiha back when the blond proposed), when he noticed it wasn't there. He shot up from the table, shoving the chair backwards, both Kiba and Sakura staring at him in wide-eyed wonder.

"Fuckfuckfuck, where'd it go? Where'd I put it?" Naruto yammered as he instantly dropped to the floor and crawled around, rising to look on the table then going quickly into the kitchen to look around the pots of food, "Fuckk, I can't lose it!"

"Woah, dude, what the fuck's going on?" Kiba said, standing up in front of his chair and moving to help his friend. Sakura just merely watched the blond from where she sat.

"My ring!" Naruto spat in return, continuing to crawl along the ground, retracing his path to the room.

Both of his friends moved from the table, looking around themselves immediately after he specified just what he had lost. They started to crawl around the floor, much like he was doing.

"It'll be okay, Naruto. We'll find it. Just look everywhere you've been today," Sakura said in what she hoped was a soothing voice though she was a little anxious herself.

"Yeah, dude. It has to be somewhere in this house. You had it with you after we left the school right?" the brunet asked from where he was feeling around the carpet in the living room.

Naruto froze, eyes going wide as he sat up suddenly beside the bed. "Fucking hell! Nonono! It can't be there! I'll never find it then!" He jumped up and yanked his keys from the desk, sprinting through the living room, "I'm going to go check my car!" the blond called as he rushed through and out the door.

He leapt at the vehicle, pushing the button on his keychain to unlock the doors and yanking the driver side open. He fumbled through the seats, reaching up to turn on the other lights in the car. "No. No. No no no nonono!" the blond chanted, not seeing the piece of jewelry anywhere. He let out a loud, exasperated growl. He couldn't lose that ring. It was one of his and _Sasuke's_ rings.

Still not seeing it anywhere, Naruto groaned at the thought of the only place it could be. He really didn't want to go there, but in his panicked state of mind, it was the only option to him right now, not caring if it was night or not. He pulled back from the car, closing the door behind him before he stomped quickly back into the house.

"Did you find it?" Sakura asked, peeking from the guest bedroom.

Naruto sighed and rubbed at his face before pushing away from the door, "No, I'm going to the school to look for it." He brushed past her into the room to grab his shoes and a flashlight. He momentarily sat on the bed and pulled his Nike-knockoffs on.

"Man, no. What the hell? You can't go there now. You'll never find it at night. Just wait until tomorrow," Kiba said, coming up to the doorway as the blond walked past them both.

"No, I can't. I have to get it back now," Naruto stated firmly and walked through the living room. There was an authority to his voice that dared the other two to stop him.

"If you lose that ring, it's not the end of—" Kiba was stopped by a hand on his shoulder and he turned to Sakura, the girl giving him a slow shake of her head. The brunet started to argue, but she focused her gaze and he sighed before turning back to the blond that was about to leave.

"At least let me go with y—" he was yet again, cut off, this time by a slamming front door.

Naruto got back in his car, turning on the engine and quickly backing out of the driveway. He drove there as swiftly as possible, pushing just over the speed limit. It didn't take long for his Honda to pull up on the gravel in front of the dilapidated school.

The blond got out of the car slowly, his anxiousness from earlier gone. Blue eyes moved over the building as he pulled out his flashlight. The place was even more foreboding and menacing at night, as he should have expected. His stomach quivered and sunk, shrinking away from the image.

Naruto shut his door, pushing the button on his keypad to lock it and stuffed his keys in his pocket. He was retarded, he was _fucking_ retarded for being here right now. In the dark. In the goddamned dark.

He clicked on his flashlight as he edged towards the building, eyes lowering and staying trained on the ground. The light hovered over the gravel and sparse grass and he watched for even a slight shimmer of metal. This looked close enough to where he was parked earlier that day so he hoped he was still retracing his steps.

After sweeping over the same, wide area of grass for the fiftieth time, Naruto decided he should finally stop procrastinating and actually go in since it was clear that his ring wasn't out here, in the grass, where it was safer and less scary. Scary? No, Naruto wasn't scared.

He looked up at the pitch-black windows, some of them boarded up, and backed away as the breeze howled through the holes in the roof. The school seemed to roar at him, daring the blond to come inside.

Okay, maybe he was feeling a _little_ nervous.

He pushed through the cracked-open door, the hinges creaking a bit as it swung open. Naruto flinched but kept moving forward into the foyer. He kept his flashlight low as he tried to focus on the floor. This building was a completely different place at night...when you were the only one here. It made his skin instantly crawl and his mouth go dry.

Naruto could feel his pulse speeding up, just by being in here like this..._alone_. That word by itself was enough for a twitch to pass through his muscles, making him turn slightly back towards the way he'd come in. The chilled air caressed against his exposed skin, but he reminded himself he was currently in a breezeway. There were no "cold spots" here. Cold spots were bullshit anyway, just like orbs and your batteries losing power. At least that's what he told himself.

_Please don't die on me, flashlight_, the blond pleaded mentally to the object and his hand tightened around it.

He swept his search over the ashy floor of the foyer, eyes threatening to glance up, but he wouldn't let them, couldn't let them. If he looked up now, he would lose what nerve he had left completely. His breath had already gone ragged and he was consciously putting up an effort to quiet it. Fuck, he felt like he was going to explode. His muscles were threatening to seize up on him. He couldn't stop though, he had to go on. There was something in his brain that wouldn't let him give up on the search for his ring just yet. This was all just silly shit; there was no reason to be afraid. What was he afraid of anyway? A glint that he _thought_ he saw earlier that day? The simple _feeling_ that he _might_ be being watched?

Naruto huffed, having built up his courage again. He needed all he could get since he was about to go down into the basement. Down where the 'Treasure Trove' was...

He slapped himself, the sting taking his mind off where it was attempting to trek. Just when he got some backbone, his brain was already trying to take it away again. _Naruto, you need to chill the fuck out. What kind of a man are you that gets scared by stupid ass shit like this?_

Wanting to growl at himself in frustration, but just not having _that_ much courage yet to be making noise, Naruto started down the cement steps into the basement, the debris lightly crushing under his tennis shoe soles.

With every step further, his dread grew. It was harder to stay focused on just his feet with his mind whirling thoughts around a mile-a-minute, and his eyes started to wander. He almost let out a sigh of relief when he realized his fears were just as stupid as he thought, nothing was there, nothing was shining or clawing or gasping for breath, but he was still too panicked to let go of his restrained breath just yet.

He continued his search on the ground, again looking for the shimmer of his white gold band. His eyes stayed glued to the ground more easily now that he wasn't as anxious to look up. Then Naruto's eyes caught movement trailing just on the edge of his peripherals.

All of his muscles froze against his will. He stopped breathing, stopped moving, eyes stopped dead on the spot they were on.

The thing was creeping along, slowing as it went until it came to a halt. Naruto attempted to brush it off as a rodent until he raised his eyes and saw that it was a ball. An old, dirty ball that still held faded colored patterns along its plastic outer covering. It was too old of a ball to still hold air...and...how had it rolled over there anyway?

Naruto hated his imagination. Because the first answers it supplied, made a cold sweat instantly dampen his skin. Made his breath catch right as it had decided to ease out again.

He didn't want to move yet. He didn't want to look up. He wished he could just suddenly be back at home, in his warm bed, snuggled to his fiancé in the afterglow of wonderful sex, nose buried in the scent of his lover's dark locks.

A whimper threatened to thread its way up his throat as a slow version of "Pop Goes the Weasel" played down in the den of the 'Treasure Trove.' It was very muffled and some of the notes twanged off-key. It died as soon as it started, and Naruto wished he could die along with it. He didn't feel much like a male anymore since his testicles had long ago hidden away. He had lost what little calm he had.

He didn't know what to do. He was so fucking _terrified_. His breath was only coming in tiny huffs now, his body was still frozen, but he knew he needed to move, needed to do..._something_.

Balls may get pushed by the wind (no matter how off it was that it was fully blown up), but toys didn't play themselves. No, he wasn't alone. Either somebody was playing a seriously sick joke on him, a homeless man was using scare tactics to keep intruders away, or....

Naruto didn't want to go where his mind threatened to lead.

The sound came from a little ahead and to the right of him, so he figured if he turned and ran fast enough, he wouldn't have to come face-to-face with whatever it was.

His chest felt like it was about to burst, his muscles were still stiffened, but he had to go. He had to leave now or he might not ever. _God, just...move...please_.

A loud crash rang through the hall and Naruto was instantly up and out of the building, a blur to anyone else if they happened to be watching. He would have screamed, shouted, called out, but his throat was still strangled with fear. He might have lost his flashlight too if his hand wasn't glued to it, muscles frozen and wrapped around it in a death grip as he sprinted across the lawn and jumped into his car. He didn't remember fumbling with his keys.

Naruto peeled out, never having moved so fast before in his life.

* * *

Getting back to the house, the blond walked back into it, steps shaky and uneven. He closed the door and leaned against it heavily, eyes not moving from the floor as he lifted up his keypad and locked his car.

He slid down the door, landing in a heap at the bottom.

Kiba and Sakura instantly went to him, the two crouching nervously on either side. Neither was sure how to react to seeing their friend like this. Now he was a crumpled, jittery mess on the doorway.

Sakura took his hand and flinched as he jerked, but he let her take it, calming slightly more at the familiar touch, and she pet it softly. "It's okay, Naruto. You'll find it eventually," she cooed against his skin.

"Yeah, man, tomorrow I'll go with you and we'll find it," Kiba said with a soft smile. He moved closer to his friend, sliding a hand over his shoulders.

"That's not it," Naruto said, voice grimly calm despite his pallid appearance. He shook his head and repeated, "That's not it." His voice cracked the second time and rose in pitch slightly.

Sakura arched a dainty brow, hands tightening slightly around her friend's. "Then what is it, Naruto?"

The brunet's brow also arched and he stood, taking Naruto's arm to help him up, "Come on, man. Let's get you to your room," Kiba said, wrapping his friend's arm around him and leading him to the guest bedroom. Sakura followed along, still clutching to the blond's cold hand. _He was usually so warm._

Naruto didn't say another word. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't even sure yet of what he'd just experienced. He let himself be led into the bedroom and he sat down on the bed, Kiba and Sakura settling at either side.

Kiba ran his hand soothingly up and down the blond's back, who was slumped forward and staring down at his feet still. "So what is it?"

"Ball," came Naruto's simple reply.

"Ball?" the brunet replied and he looked up to an almost-mirrored expression of his own from the girl to Naruto's other side. He knew she was thinking something close to what he was.

"There...was a ball...I saw it!" Naruto said, head jerking up as he explained himself almost frantically, not looking at either of them. "There was a ball and it rolled and then there was music and then..then.. a crash...I don't know what was there, but there was something there and I ran."

"Shshsh..." Sakura stopped him, getting freaked out herself. For Naruto to be so bothered by this, somebody who was never scared of anything...She grabbed his head and pulled him to her, cradling it as she threaded her fingers through his hair. "It'll be okay. You're back here now. You shouldn't've gone there alone at night."

"Yeah, you were kind've askin' fo---" Kiba stopped himself thanks to a glare from the pink-haired girl beside him. "What I meant was, you should've let me come with you."

"I'm sorry, guys," Naruto said, hugging Sakura back and burying his face into her arm. "I dunno what I was thinking."

"It's okay, Naruto," Sakura said with a calm smile, still petting his scalp. She could feel warmth seeping back into his body and she relaxed more. "You just need some sleep."

"I need Sasuke," Naruto corrected her, voice muffled against her arm. It came out before he could keep his mouth shut. Now, he felt foolish...and weak. A rough, frustrated sigh passed his lips.

Sakura winced and paused in her stroking, before going back to it. "Yes,...yes you do...," she said before looking up at Kiba who sighed and looked down.

Naruto stayed wrapped around the young girl until the fatigue that came from all the day's events threatened to drag him to sleep, allowing her, wanting her to continue stroking him. It calmed him, being similar to what the Uchiha did to get him to settle down.

He pulled from her and rubbed at his temples before getting up. "You guys..can go..I'll be fine. I just need some sleep." The two looked hesitant until he gave them a small grin, "Really, I'm cool. Just lemme get some shut-eye."

"Alright, man, I'll see ya in the morning," Kiba said as he stood, patting the blond on the back before leaving the room. He knew that if Naruto said he'd be okay, it was best to just leave him to it.

Sakura gave Naruto a tight hug, before pulling back with a small smile, "If you need me, don't hesitate to come wake me up, okay?" She stood on her tiptoes and placed a small, chaste kiss on his cheek before leaving the room as well, closing the door behind her.

The blond sighed, tugging off his shoes and socks before dropping his pants as well. He pulled his shirt over his head before clicking on the lamp by his bed. He strolled over, absently scratching at an itch on his groin, and turned off the main light. Then he went back over to his bed, slipping in between the covers.

It took a while for him to get comfortable, but eventually, how worn out he was from the day won over and he fell fast asleep.

The next day went by as normal and the blond was soon just chalking up the previous day's events to stress and having been on the road too long without proper rest. He still didn't have his ring, but he planned to get it the day after when the construction team had day one of its project to renovate the school.

The day before the renovation, was for rest and preparation.

Naruto barely moved from the couch, him and Kiba going from watching whatever came on the TV to mulling over the blue prints and making sure all of their paperwork, plans, and the wishes of the people paying for this job all matched up. It was the most boring part of their job, but it was also one of the most important. One mistake and they were in for months of wasted effort.

Sakura was coming home late that night, so the two young men ordered pizza. They easily emptied two and half boxes, leaving the rest in the fridge for when their female companion got home later. They were pigs, but not heartless bastards.

The blond only had one conversation with Sasuke, the raven calling him later that evening after once again, failing to answer Naruto's call. The Uchiha had yet another legitimate excuse and apologized, saying that next time he'd be sure to pick up.

That night, after his shower, Naruto fell asleep with only a little bit of unease. It wasn't from balls rolling or music playing or even the pitter-patter of children's feet across a cement floor. The blond's anxiety was simple nervousness for the next day. A normal, very welcome anxiety in his opinion.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not or will I ever own Naruto. (even if i wanna) Same goes for Donnie Darko and Kung Pow fff

A/N: Chapter Two for your reading needs. I kinda didn't wanna post these two events at the same time, but I guess it works -shrug- Let me know?

Things start going downhill for Naruto...hard. This is where the **character death** starts SO YEAH warnin ya. :I Can't say I didn't, fools.

Warnings: NaruSasu(**YAOI**) undertones. Tons 'o' **Character Death**. I tend to like to get more violent with my descriptions of some things, so there's that: **VIOLENCE** fff. For you pervs, there WILL be some sexytiem eventually.

Critiques appreciated.

* * *

"No, Naruto, I told you for the hundredth time: If anybody on my team—or _any_ team for that matter, since you told the _whole_ crew about this around five times in your 'pep speech' this morning—if we find any rings or jewelry, we'll immediately report straight to you. I got it, now can I please go do my job?" came the low drawl that was individually, Nara Shikamaru's. He was one of the ones just a step below Kiba's position, in charge (like a few others) over the smaller teams. He was leading the electrical crew.

"Good, you remember that. Make sure everyone else remembers it too," Naruto said, voice raised over the noise of construction and pointing his roll of blue prints at the brunet for emphasis (who sighed and turned away), before turning to stroll back outside as they parted ways.

The whole building had buzzed to life that morning after the blond had gone over everything with all of the people who would be working hard in this blue-collar profession to get the job done. He, of course, couldn't leave out his dilemma about losing his ring, since he had not had enough time to do a sweep of his own yet. He hadn't told Sasuke of the ring's disappearance though.

Setting up quickly, the team of Swirling Leaf Construction was soon in business and hadn't stopped yet. Lunch was coming around the corner though, and the feeling of anxiousness for a break hung in the air.

A brunet was just about to bustle back inside before he was caught by the arm. "Kiba, I need you to come with me in the trailer please?" Naruto said firmly, voice still carrying more since he needed to be louder than their equipment. The blond used a louder voice while on the job anyway. He had learned the leader-like voice from experience since he wanted to do his job right. You couldn't be a good supervisor if people didn't listen.

He didn't normally use it with Kiba though, so the brunet immediately knew it had to be something serious. So without second thought, he followed his friend (who also happened to be his boss) into their trailer.

The roll of blue prints was tossed up on the small drafting desk before Naruto sat in the short, office chair, turning to face the other. "We're having an issue with the auditorium and the gym."

Kiba nodded before sitting down in the twin to the chair the blond was in.

"See here," Naruto unrolled the blueprints, setting them on his lap as he pointed. "This wall can crumble at any moment. I told some of the guys to start setting up supports so that it doesn't happen, but even a little shock may send the whole auditorium roof coming down."

The Inuzuka hummed, bringing a hand up to rub idly at his jaw as he thought. Naruto raised his gaze to watch the other's face. Kiba was usually really good at thinking up something out of the box when the blond was running low on ideas. The two completed each other in a way and that's why they insisted on working so close together.

"Well..." the brunet started, scooting his chair up so he could point to the building plans, "We could always set up tall scaffolding to hold the ceiling up and work on building up these walls first before we started on anything else. I know he said he wanted the classrooms to be completed before we started on the auditorium, but I think in order to keep our guys safe and have a better chance at preserving the site as a whole, this'd be the best choice of action, don'tcha think?" Kiba looked up at the blond who was now contemplating this in his head as he looked down at the blueprints.

Naruto snorted, grinning up at the Inuzuka, "Goddamn, you are such a genius, bud." He let the plans roll back up and the two friends gave each other a high-five before standing.

Kiba shrugged, feigning disinterest, "I try, man. S'what I do."

The blond snickered before shoving the Inuzuka playfully, "Go let our guys know lunch is on. I'll call up Asuma and inform the big guy so he can count the other guys in. Hopefully we'll have a verdict before long so we can get some work done today."

A nod came from the brunet before he grinned and slipped out the door, Naruto turning to pick up the phone.

* * *

Lunch went on, longer than usual. It took Ebisu and the others a while to grasp just what Asuma and Naruto were talking about, but eventually they caved and recognized that this was for the safety of the workers and the project itself and the new plans were approved.

By the end of the day, the crew was fairly proud of their accomplishments. The men all were waving each other off with fond goodbyes even though they were going to see each other the next day. The machinery was all put up, shut off, put in the various versions of 'standby' that they needed. The workday had ended.

Naruto drove Kiba back to Sakura's. Since the two were staying together, the blond insisted on doing his friend the favor. They agreed to switch up every week so that one wasn't paying for all of the gas. It was an awesome plan according to the blond who'd made it.

They ate dinner together, the young woman being home early enough to fix it. Kiba was congratulated on his brilliant idea for the day and both celebrated the first day of work on the creepy-ass building.

Sasuke answered his phone that evening, much to the blond's delight. (not that he minded waiting on the other to call him back; it was just so un-Sasuke-like that it threw Naruto off.)

"Hey there," Sasuke answered.

"Hey there, yourself," Naruto replied in a low voice, his "sexy voice."

A snort, the blond could see his lover trying to fight off the blush, "How was your first day?"

"Amazing. Kiba and I worked through a huge safety issue and everything's smooth sailing so far," Naruto said back, scratching at his bare chest. "Today just went so well. It more than made up for two days before." The statement was truly sincere.

"That's good to hear." He heard a shift over the phone, "I need to eat and shower still." Sasuke paused, "People germs."

Naruto scratched at his head. "Well you can get to eating while I'm on the phone, baby."

"I know, I'm getting to it now."

The rest of their conversation went smoothly. Naruto getting into the details of what he did that day, Sasuke listening and eventually returning with his own short stories. Thankfully nothing was off otherwise. Everything else in the Uchiha's life seemed to be normal.

The next couple of weeks went by without much incident. A few guys on the job got injured, but that was to be expected. Happened all the time. Nothing out of the ordinary.

The building was starting to take shape, the roof was closed in, and most of the exterior walls were reinforced. From the outside, the school was starting to look normal.

Today was exactly three weeks since they started. Three weeks since the incident that Naruto had tucked away securely into the recesses of his mind. The ring still hadn't turned up, but the blond had already decided he was probably going to have to buy a new one. He was willing to do almost anything to cover that event up.

"Hey, can you go check up on Izumo for me?" Kiba asked, eyes glued to his clipboard as he nudged his friend in the shoulder. "He asked me for some help on something earlier but I forgot what it was. I'm a little busy right now, so—"

"Yeah, sure. I've got a moment. Where is he?" Naruto looked up from where he was making marks on his own clipboard.

The Inuzuka scratched underneath his hardhat with the end of the pen, eyes still lowered, "Uhhh..third level. He's on one of the entrances to the crow walk."

Naruto shuddered a bit, "What's he doing up there?"

"Filling in the wall," Kiba stated very plainly, like it was common knowledge.

"Meh, fine, I'll go." Naruto grumbled and slid from his chair, already heading up the steps and down the hallways to get up to the 'crow walk.'

That was their nickname for the two doorways that were straight parallel from each other on what would be the fourth level, but the bridge between had not survived and there were no traces of it. The crew jokingly refers to it as the crow walk since one of the new blood claimed they saw a crow walk straight across to the other side. The others had promptly replied with first of all, 'Crows don't walk, they fly or hop,' and the second, 'Even if they could walk, there's nothin' to walk across.' New boy had quickly shut up after his attempts at making the brash men believe it failed multiple times.

Naruto turned on to the steps (the ones that he had not taken on his first walk through) and took them up to the third floor. He could still hear the faint whine of power tools but most of the construction was focused on the outside and the bottom floors. The third floor was nearly deserted besides the few men who passed through.

He ignored the tingle that went over his skin, the tightening of the flesh on the back of his neck, and pressed on. He reached the rickety iron stairway that led up to the tiny landing up on the fourth level. The small rooms that were across from each other were the only flat areas of flooring that were up that high. His hand tightened around the bar before he remembered he wasn't supposed to trust it and instead just climbed up without holding onto anything. The iron clanged dully beneath his boots, echoing slightly off the walls.

Reaching the top, Naruto looked around. He avoided the steps up to where it would have led to the walkway to the other side, where instead there was just a drop off. Izumo should be up here, this is where Kiba said he was.

The blond looked down to the third floor. Maybe he was getting something and coming back up or maybe... Naruto looked across to the other side, squinting in the dim light. No, he wasn't on the other side either.

Naruto leaned against a wall, deciding to wait until the man showed up. He was probably taking a leak or grabbing another tool or something. The traces of his work were evident in the small area. The floor was much cleaner than before, maybe swept a bit to avoid slipping. The walls were partially scraped clean of the old, burnt-away drywall.

A loud yawn escaped the blond and he folded his arms across his front, still leaning back against one of the brick walls. He glanced down at his watch, he didn't have much longer he could just sit here and wait for the guy. If he had something to ask a supervisor, he needed to be around when they showed up.

"Hey, Izumo!" Naruto called, hoping to at least draw attention to the fact he was up there. "I'm not gonna wait on your ass much longer!" And he truly meant it, he was starting to get the creeps from being up here by himself so long.

He slumped down to sit on the steps, crossing his forearms over his knees. He tilted his head sideways, he couldn't see the floor below anymore, but he could still see the upper half of the iron stairs.

A few minutes passed and Naruto decided he had waited long enough. He was about to get up and leave when he heard slow footsteps on the stairs. He noticed the railing to the side was shaking too, "Hey, you should know you can't rely on that thing. You might fall over with it when it breaks off," Naruto stated, looking up and expecting to see Izumo's head poke up any moment now.

Nothing did, and the footsteps stopped.

The blond growled and got up, "Izumo, I've been waiting long enough for your dumb---" He froze once the stairs got completely into his line of sight. They were completely empty.

The tightening of his skin came back and he could feel his scalp shrink as all of the hairs on his body stood on end. He had to be seeing things...hearing things...this was all his imagination. Nobody had been coming up the steps. He swallowed but his mouth was dry.

"Izumo?" he asked out loud. His voice was met with silence.

He didn't want to be up here anymore, but he didn't want to go down those stairs either. He was trapped in this area until someone came to get him. Naruto took a step closer to the drop off and looked down, hoping to comfort himself with the signs of life below, maybe call someone up there.

There was no one down there. He pulled his head back up quickly. He hadn't noticed until now that the sounds of work being done were gone too. Everywhere was completely silent. Naruto was all alone.

He could feel his eyes sting with tears of desperation. What was he supposed to do now? What the fuck was going on?

He backed up to the wall even after he had already been against it. He wanted to meld with it, disappear. This was even worse than being down in the basement. At least he'd had a way to escape then. He was completely stuck up here, the only way down being the stairs that he didn't want to be near right now.

He had nearly convinced himself to just run down the stairs when the footsteps started again. They were slow and sure and rattled the iron, making the railing shake as well. He wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn't. His breath froze in his chest, his fingers curled into the wall behind him as his muscles seized up. He could already feel the chill air cooling the sweat that spread across his brow.

His mouth parted as strangled pants sporadically huffed their way through. He felt the need to scream, yell, shout, relieve the panic building up inside him, but again he couldn't. He was too transfixed on what was coming up the stairs, because as far as he could see, the stairs were completely empty. Just the deep thudding sound of footsteps coming up them rang through the air, the only sign of anything living besides Naruto's own rasping pants.

The thuds stopped, whatever it was had either gone or---Naruto cringed---had made it up to the floor he was on.

The expanse of the area was only about 15 feet across so if whatever-it-was was up there on the same floor as him, Naruto should be looking it straight in the face. But all the blond could see were the same dull walls and rickety, still stairs.

He jerked, his brain screaming at him to run, go, get away. His eyes darted everywhere, widely dilated as adrenaline pumped through his veins. He edged slightly off the wall, ready to make his move. Ready to shoot down the stairs.

Then a dark shadow was suddenly in front of him. Impossibly wide blue eyes could make out the impression of a sunken face screaming at him. It grabbed his arms, a cold chill shooting from where it touched, and he shouted, body instantly jerking into defensive maneuvers. He jerked his weight to the side, trying to throw the thing off. It held on in a tight grip, trying to pull him over the stairs, but he fought it and eventually it tumbled out of view, off the drop off.

Naruto continued his wordless shouting with each breath, voice strained and cracking as he backed up to the opposite wall and sank against it. He didn't take his eyes off of where the shadow had disappeared, but he didn't move, his legs were too weak to. He couldn't do anything but stare and pant. His arms lay limp at either side, his heart pounded mercilessly in his chest.

He cried out again in panic as there were more thuds up the stairs and flinched violently away from the hands grabbing at him. Then he saw the familiar red triangles and hazel brown spikes sticking out of his best friend, Kiba's, hardhat and he calmed, allowing the other to pull him around to face him. The blond's eyes were still on the drop off though where a couple of the other men were crowding around and looking down.

Finally the Inuzuka's voice met his ears, sound clearing as if he was surfacing from water. "Naruto, Naruto! Look at me, man! Look at me!"

Naruto turned slowly towards the brunet, his eyes followed suit shortly after. He tried to regulate his breathing, his head starting to swim and go numb from lack of oxygen.

Kiba's brows were upturned, shock and worry evident across his face. "What the fuck happened?"

Staring was all Naruto was capable of, his mouth parting as if to speak but nothing came out, then he was roughly shaken.

"What the fuck happened?_ Goddammit, answer me!_" the other shouted at him, giving him another shake.

"I don't _know_ what happened!" Naruto yelled back, his body finally relaxing from the paralyzing fear. "A shadow, it grabbed me! And...and....I threw it off!" The blond jerked his head towards the opening again before his chin was grabbed and he was forced to look at Kiba again.

"A shadow grabbed you? What the hell is that bullshit? There's a man dead on the floor of the auditorium—Izumo is _fucking dead_—and our only explanation so far is that a fucking _shadow_ attacked you two?"

Naruto yanked himself away from Kiba, ignoring the other's shouting, clumsily standing up and going over to the steps by the drop-off. There was no way. Izumo wasn't here. The shadow attacked him, he threw the shadow off.

The blond's breath caught in his throat as he looked down and didn't see the shadowy figure that had grabbed him. It was indeed Izumo lying in a slowly growing pool of his own blood, prone on the ground. Dead. His limbs were twisted in impossible ways, even from where he was he could see where splinters of bone had broken through the flesh.

Naruto stepped back, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. He stumbled over some debris, his mind racing and tangling itself over its own thoughts. Kiba caught him by the arm. Did he just kill somebody? No, no he didn't. The shadow did. He didn't do it. He couldn't have done it. He wouldn't have done it.

"I didn't do it!" Naruto yelled suddenly, eyes wide as he focused on the people that were now looking at him. "I swear to god I didn't do it!"

The others just stared and Kiba waved his arms violently at them. "Get out of here! Don't you have work to do? We'll get this cleared up, so go!" The men left, some grumbling, some murmuring. Naruto was sure it was all about him.

He fell back against a wall, running both hands up over his face and threading them in his hair. His hat had fallen off through the struggle and lay on the ground nearby.

"Naruto—"

"You believe me right?"

"What?" Kiba arched a brow, pausing from where he was nearing his friend.

"You believe I didn't do it, right? 'Cause I didn't," Naruto's voice croaked, scratchy from overuse. His brows curled upwards slightly as his eyes focused on the other.

"I don't think you did, man. You could never pull off something like this," Kiba replied, voice low. He gave the blond a small smile and rubbed the other's bicep lightly, trying to calm him down. "I think you should go home though. I'll take care of this."

Naruto nodded slowly, eyes lowering. He blinked and brought them back up to the brunet. "I'll go home. Maybe take a shower." He bent down to pick up his discarded hat.

"That's it, man. Go calm down. I'll come back home later and we can talk this out, okay?" Kiba said with a smile as he rubbed his friend's back, ushering him down the stairs.

Pulling his hat on his head, Naruto allowed himself to be led through the building back to his car, the loud sounds of construction pleasing his ears like they had never done in his life.

After coming home, Naruto immediately called Sasuke, the Uchiha being one of the few people that could calm him down without even having to actually be there. They hung up and the blond took a shower, washing away the dirt and grime and history of the day from his skin.

Then he took a short nap, waking only when he heard Kiba get home. He pulled on some jeans over his boxers and went to greet the other in the living room, still shirtless.

He ran a hand over the short hairs on the back of his neck, a yawn stretching his mouth open. "Hey, man. Uh...how'd it go?" Naruto asked, voice low as he prepared himself for something bad.

Kiba kicked his shoes off by the door (as per Queen Sakura's house rules) and hung his hat up behind the door. He pulled his shirt off over his head, already preparing himself for his own shower. "Not bad. You are under slight suspicion but I assured them it was an accident and they seemed sorta convinced. The renovation's been put on hold though for a couple of days."

The blond nodded, "That's understandable. Am I gonna have to go to court or anything?"

Kiba walked to the other guest room and pulled down his pants, Naruto followed him in and leaned against the doorframe. "They're passing it off as an on-the-job accident and since the guy didn't really have any relatives, there's no one pressing charges. A total lucky break for you man, but the boss is gonna have his eye on you now." The brunet looked up, giving Naruto a look and then pulled his socks off.

"I guess that's also to be expected, but, heh, at least I don't have to go to jail," he said, scratching at his head. He curled his toes into the carpet to distract his mind from slipping off into thoughts of earlier.

The brunet walked into the bathroom, turning to Naruto, "After I get out, you tell me all about this little 'shadow' you saw, alright?"

Naruto nodded slowly, reluctant to discuss it, but knowing the other wouldn't leave him alone otherwise.

"Good," the door closed behind him as Kiba went inside with a grin.

Naruto shuffled into the living room and flopped on the couch. He reached over and grabbed the remote, turning on the television. He looked over at the clock on the wall. An hour until Sakura got home. He hoped she didn't badger him about today, but he knew she would no matter what he hoped.

He sighed and settled on watching _Kung Pow,_ needing some comedy to brighten up his day.

Kiba was out in half an hour, toweling through his short hair and flopping down on the couch next to the blond. He glanced at the television, catching onto what movie his friend was watching before he spoke. "So, a shadow huh? Was it like a normal shadow? Like the kind you get from standing in the sun? I don't see how one of those could hurt you."

A sigh left Naruto's lips. Leave it to Kiba to make something that was so serious to the blond, seem so ridiculous. "It wasn't like that. It was more like a black figure. I could see their shape and stuff but it was all black and it kinda faded in and out. It looked kinda wispy too, like it was a clear cloth being blown by the wind." The blond explained, gesturing with his hands, "And I could see his face sorta and it was all ....sunken in looking like a—"

"Like a zombie? Or like that guy from Scream? Really, man, you need to chill out. I think your imagination is running away with you." The brunet ran a hand along Naruto's bare back. "Maybe we should all drink tonight, since we don't have to go into work tomorrow. Thanks to Izumo, god bless his soul, poor guy."

Naruto quirked a smile, "Yeah, drinking sounds good. Maybe we can drag Sakura in, huh? You know how crazy she gets." He nudged the brunet in the rib. His normal grin now spread across his face.

Kiba grinned back before relaxing back against the couch. "Yeah, you bet she's gonna haveta drink with us. We're not accepting any bullshit about school either."

"Damn right," the blond replied and relaxed back as well, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table.

The two sat back and finished up the movie, Sakura stepping in shortly after it the credits stopped rolling up.

"Hey, guys, how was work?" she said, slipping in the door and closing it behind her. She brought her messenger bag into her room and pulled it off into her office chair.

"Well, that's a story to be told during dinner," Kiba replied over the back of the couch. "Which—by the way—is what?"

Sakura snorted, slipping off her socks and putting them in the hamper. "Well, I don't feel like fixing anything so I guess it's 'Help Yourself Night'" She grinned at them and pulled the clip from her hair.

"Fuck that. I was thinking pizza," the brunet grimaced at the thought of having to do labor to get his food when someone else could just make it for him. "You like that, Blondie?"

Naruto looked up from being zoned out on the commercials, "Huh? Oh, yeah sure. Pizza sounds awesome."

Kiba snorted and pulled out his cell phone, he had Domino's on speed dial. As he placed his order over the phone, Sakura came and sat on the couch beside Naruto. She turned to him, placing her elbow on the back of the couch and leaning her face against it. "You okay, Naruto?" she asked in her usual sweet voice.

The blond grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head as he turned to her, "Yeah. Just a rough day, heh. A guy at work got killed. Fell from four levels up. I was the only one up there where he was so people are suspectin I did it. I was just protecting myself from the shadow." His eyes fell from where he had been holding her gaze.

Sakura arched a brow, "Shadow?"

"Yeah, this weird thing just grabbed me and I threw it off. I dunno how, but it ended up being Izumo. I swear to god though it was attacking me," he looked back up at her.

A smile graced her lips, calming the almost worried look she had been holding. She ran the back of her hand across his cheek, the weird whiskerish marks that had been there since she'd known him were dimpled under her caress. "I know you didn't kill him, Naruto. You're not that kind of person, but this shadow thing seems k—"

"Alright! Pizza's on its way guys," Kiba said as he slapped his phone closed. "Same order as always. Also,...Sakura...it's drinking night. And I will _not_ hear a word against it!" He held up a finger in front of her face to accentuate his point.

She huffed, puffing her cheeks slightly. "You guys _know_ I have class tomorrow."

"Nuh-uh-uh. I told you I would not hear it. You are drinkin with us tonight, missy," the brunet grinned.

Naruto turned to give her his own grin, "Come on, Sakura, live a little. You don't even have to get drunk. Just loosen up. You've been focusin so much on school lately. What happened to our little girl?"

Sakura sighed, but her eyes gave away her grin she was trying to hide. "Fine, fine, but if I miss class tomorrow, you two are going to get it." She stated firmly, giving them both a look.

The two just grinned in return, Kiba getting up to run to the fridge and grabbing a can for them all. He tossed Naruto his and Sakura's and then Naruto passed the girl hers.

Kiba popped the top of his, taking a long, first sip then he raised it up in the air. "Cheers to no work. Well..at least for me and Naruto. And also here's to Izumo. A guy I never knew, but I heard he could work a drill like a pro." The brunet gave a wink and the other two snickered before raising their own drinks and tapping them with a low metallic thud. The three of them guzzled their drinks (sipped in Sakura's case) and brought them down in alternating turns as they got their fill.

A couple of beers later, the pizza arrived. Kiba and Naruto both jumped up to get it.

"I'm going to pay this time, buddy!"

"No, way! Like I'd give you that honor!"

"Honor? Pffff, when'd _paying_ become an honor?"

"Since forever! We're men! Bread-winners! It's an honor!"

Naruto rubbed his palm over his face, snickering at Kiba's reasoning. He waved a hand, stepping back from the door, "Fine, fine, you get it, Mr. Bread-winner."

The pizza guy eyed them warily from the doorway and took the money that Kiba threw at him before the brunet snatched the box away with a clipped, "Good bye." Then he shut the door on the confused delivery boy.

The Inuzuka nearly skipped into the kitchen with the box, stumbling a few times. Naruto followed behind, fighting back the laughter that threatened to topple him over. Sakura raised from the couch and came over as well, nursing her beer, her normal way of drinking any alcohol.

Kiba dropped the box on the table, whipping it open and grabbing up a piece. Naruto came and claimed his own as well. The sole female grumbled about boys not knowing how to use dishes and went over to the cabinets to get herself a plate.

"Okay, so what movie is in tonight's showing?" Kiba asked, eyeing his two companions. He finished up his first piece and instantly grabbed the next.

"Uh, maybe _Donnie Darko_? We haven't watched that one in forever," Sakura suggested, taking a bite of pizza into her mouth carefully.

They both turned to the blond who looked up from stuffing his face with a piece and just shrugged. "Sounths s'fine poo me," he said around the pizza in his mouth.

Kiba snorted and grabbed up the box. "Ole Donnie-boy it is then! To the couch!" he announced, trying to take strong, sure steps, but only managed in failing to keep his balance even more than usual. "And Naruto, grab a few more beers. We're gonna need 'em." The brunet flopped onto the sofa, setting the box down and scooting over enough to give Sakura room and save some for Naruto.

"Okie dokie, artichokie," the blond said with a flopped salute and went over to the fridge, finishing off the piece in his mouth. As soon as his hand touched the handle, he heard a rough whispering in his ear, air being blown across his skin. He whirled around, "Hey! What're you guys tryin to pull here?"

He paused when all the two did was turn and look at him, from..way over there on the couch. "Pull what? Is the beer gone? It better fuc—OW! It better not be gone!" Kiba growled, rubbing his head from where Sakura had popped him.

Naruto looked around him once more. _It's just the alcohol, there's nothing here. This is Sakura's house, it's perfectly safe._ He turned back to the fridge and opened it, grabbing a six pack from the chilled shelves and closed it. "Nah, it's all here, just hearing things I guess. Haha," he chuckled and joined them at the couch, placing the pack on the table next to the pizza box and helping himself to another of both the pizza and the beverage.

They sat and ate a few bites before all going still. The two young men turned to eye the girl between them, Sakura merely looking back, slightly confused.

Then it hit her, "Oh! I forgot to put in the movie! My bad." She sat up, sliding off the couch and going around the table to kneel by her collection of DVDs. She thumbed through them before picking out the one they needed and put it into her player.

"Hurry up, woman. My eyes need some entertainment to go with this food and booze," Kiba said around a mouthful, lifting his beer to guzzle from it.

Sakura stood from where she had pushed the power button on her DVD player, turning it on. She put the hand holding the remote and the other on each hip and leered at the brunet relaxed on the couch. "'Hurry up,...._woman_'?" she repeated, a certain venom to her voice.

Naruto scooted further away from the Inuzuka.

"Well you are a woman, aren't you?" the brunet replied, digging himself a deeper grave.

Sakura just eyed him, lids slowly narrowing as a disbelieving scoff parted her lips. "First of all: I have a name and it's _not_ 'woman.' Second of all: You should really consider taking back that last comment," she said very slowly and all too carefully.

"I'd do as she said, man. Otherwise you'll be getting to know Izumo," Naruto piped in.

"Hey, if I can't say what I want, why am I even staying here?" the brunet shrugged, but quickly changed his statement after a remote connected firmly with his forehead, "FUCK!..OW!" followed by a shoe, "Jesus, wo—Sakura, Christ! I'm sorry alright?"

A low 'hmph' was his reply as Sakura strutted back to her seat, chin high in victory. She nestled between the two who both moved further away in their respective directions. "You two can chill out. The movie's about to begin," she calmly grasped the remote that would be the cause of Kiba's new bruise and pushed the enter button, selecting the "Play Movie" section.

During the movie, a few more punches were thrown, mainly from the fiery female in the center onto the two goofs on either side, but it was still an enjoyable night. The rest of it was spent finishing up what was dished out on the coffee table and enjoying a good movie. There were no more whispers, no more shadows, just the comfort of friends. The three passed out together on the sofa, Sakura the only one stirring a little later to get ready for her early morning classes.

The next few days passed by leisurely. Naruto and Kiba doing things they hadn't done together in years thanks to their job.

Most of it was to take the blond's mind off of things. Off of the "phantoms" in the school, off of the balls and music in the school, off of the fingers that were still pointed at him for Izumo's death. There were still people who were not convinced that just because Naruto was a good-natured person, that he wouldn't kill somebody.

Naruto tried to ignore it. Sasuke, Kiba, and Sakura stood beside him, reminding him that those people were no good, that they were just being ignorant, but the blond couldn't take much more of this. He had dealt with it most of his childhood and that didn't make it any less hard to deal with. If anything...it made it harder to deal with.

He began to talk to Shikamaru more. The man was in a family of lawyers (though he personally thought of the profession as "troublesome" and moved on to be a head electrician in construction) and he also held close ties with their boss, Asuma. Naruto figured if he could convince Shikamaru without a shadow of a doubt that he was innocent, things might start to go better for him.

The two were supposed to meet up at the school (even though Naruto fought it, not wanting to go back to the place without at least an army) and Naruto was to show Shikamaru exactly what happened. The brunet was also curious as to if he could see one of these "shadows." The blond hoped that they didn't see anything and wondered why someone as skeptic-seeming as the Nara would even slightly believe in these things that Naruto had seen, but if it got his name cleared, he'd do it. He just wouldn't like it.

"Hey, guess we're going to do a little 'ghost hunting,' huh?" Naruto said with a light laugh, though inwardly he was cringing at the thought.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just more interested in figuring this whole thing out, but if one of your 'shadows' happens to show up, that'll just be more evidence on your side." Shikamaru drawled back.

The blond forced a grin, he didn't want to see "his shadows." "So uh I guess we go in then?" Naruto said as he walked past the door into the foyer. He clicked on his flashlight.

"Mm," the brunet said, following him in.

Naruto looked around for the breaker that would turn on all the flood lights they had set up to work with. Finding it, he flicked it on and the whole building lit up with an echoed snap. That was much better. He flicked his flashlight back off and stuck it in the pouch hanging off his belt.

"Well it's this way to the crow's walk," the blond said unneededly as he was sure the other knew where it was, he just needed to say something to keep the silence broken. He turned to go up the stairs and Shikamaru followed, staying quiet for the most part. The brunet's head turned slowly as he looked round. _Probably watching for shadows_, was Naruto's guess.

As they made their way through the halls, corridors, and up stairs, Naruto kept his guard up. His body stayed in alert, all five (possibly six) senses keen to any changes at all in the area around him. He was forced to jerk his head around a couple of times, but nothing too weird happened, nothing he couldn't explain anyway.

"Do we have to actually go all the way up there?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the side to eye the brunet beside him.

Shikamaru replied with a sneer (for him it was anyway, to other people, it was probably just a smirk), "I need it to get a good assessment of what actually happened. Don't chicken out on me."

The blond would have huffed, but he had already had his pride damaged and wasn't looking for any more blows to it just yet. Instead, he puffed his chest out, subtly he hoped, and walked a little faster, chin more in the air. "I'm not chicken, I was just making sure."

They finally made it to the rickety old stairs and whatever courage the blond had forced up, was slowly starting to deflate now. He had planned on never being up on that landing again and yet, here he was (and without his army too). _Just up and back down. Smooth as butter. Easy as pie. Nothing too bad. You'll be alright._ Naruto's thoughts raced with encouragement, but he wasn't sure if they'd be enough.

The other having paused, Shikamaru just gave a short shake of his head accompanied by a low snort and took the initiative up them himself. His shoes tapped on the metal and he didn't take the railing, instead his hand grazed the brick wall. He turned back halfway up, "You have to come too."

Startled from where he had been looking around (looking for shadows), Naruto quickly ascended the stairs after the brunet, his feet a bit more noisy. He wasn't sure if the noise was comforting or not, but decided worrying about it wasn't going to get him anywhere. It was too late after all.

They both were on the fourth level now. Both standing in the tiny 15x20 foot space. Naruto felt trapped again and cramped. It was much smaller than it had been those few days before. He felt his will threading off, thinning out the longer he stood there. The other male's presence helped, but it didn't do for complete security. After all, Shikamaru hadn't dealt with the shadow the other day.

"So, show me what happened," the other male spoke dully, scratching at the back of his head before shoving his hands in his pockets. Naruto was sure he was mentally preparing to take notes of this in his head since a notepad wouldn't seem too out of place right now.

The blond staggered forward, looking around as he thought back on what had happened. "Well, uh..I came up here lookin' for him. He wasn't here so I just.." he took a seat on the step much like he did before, the action sent his stomach fluttering, "Sat and waited for a while and..." He didn't want to relive this, he was already getting the chills, already darting his gaze to the steps, anticipating the re-arrival of his acquaintance from the other day.

Shikamaru bobbed his head forward, gesturing for him to go on, "And then..."

Naruto drug his gaze back to the brunet and swallowed though his mouth was slowly going dry, "And then I heard footsteps come up the stairs, plain as day. So I stood to greet whoever it was, thinkin' it was Izumo, right? And..there was nothing." The blond stood and gestured towards the stairs, eyes lingering on them, expecting some sort of re-enactment. "So I was freaked out, yaknow? And I kinda called out to him—Izumo that is—, but nothing answered. Then I kinda ..backed up against this wall here." Naruto stepped back against the wall, much like he had before. "And then there was nothing for a while. I go to step forward and then BAM! It comes at me!" He threw his hands up, a little disappointed to see the other unfazed. "So I struggle with him and try to throw him off because I'm way more than a little freaked out by now cause I can see his face and it's all..sunken in and white and there's only gaping blackness where eyes and his mouth should be and the whole figure is kinda fading in and out but overall it's like smoky black and—"

_Was that a shriek?_ It reminded him of the one that he hadn't quite heard, but more _heard_ in his head when the thing had fallen off the side. It made him suddenly stand very straight as cold jolted up his spine.

"I see," Shikamaru said, either not noticing or ignoring how the other had cut off like that. He instead went to look over the edge. The spot (now clean) where Izumo had fallen to his death right below. He rose back up and stepped away from the edge. "Well, have you had past experiences with hallucinations?"

Naruto jerked his head to the side to look at Shikamaru (away from the steps). "Uh..what?" he blinked owlishly, looking very young suddenly. He felt young, like a kid, a kid that was still afraid to be in his room even after mom had left the light on. Because the thing in the closet didn't care that there was a light.

"You know. Seeing things, hearing things, smelling even. Voices in your head. That kind of stuff," the brunet gestured one of his hands with each listing. His bored gaze lingering on Naruto, not even shifting sideways once.

"Uh..no..what are you saying? That I'm crazy? I assure you.." Naruto laughed nervously, almost forced, "That I am not. I have never seen or heard anything like this until now. What I saw is what I saw. Whether it ended up being Izumo or not doesn't matter because I didn't throw _Izumo_ off the side." The blond gave Shikamaru a stern look now. This accusation against him ruling out the shriek he heard or the movement he thought he saw in the doorway across from them on the lower floor. "I was attacked. I protected myself."

A sigh passed Shikamaru's lips. He pinched and rubbed the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes in thought. A slight crinkle passed over his forehead but went away once he lowered his hand from his face. "I'll..see what I can do. It doesn't seem like you did this on purpose, more like you said..an attack, though I always thought of Izumo as a calm, nice guy, but whatever. I'm going to leave the shadows out though. Including that information won't help you."

Naruto grinned, partially from the fact that he had the Nara on his side and also because they could leave now. There was a heaviness on his shoulders and in his stomach that wouldn't leave.

He gestured Shikamaru to the stairs, mounting them behind the other. "Thanks a lot. This has been really stressful for me. I need this job. Plus, I'm not a killer..and I don't want my coworkers to think of me as one, y'know?"

The other nodded and paused at the bottom before walking alongside the blond, "It's understandable and not really a hard task, but you're welcome anyway. I like you as a supervisor. You do a good job." A faint smile curved the brunet's lips.

"Well you don't have to say all that." Naruto smiled sheepishly and rubbed at the back of his neck, "I just do what I can y'know. What's b—" the blond stopped mid-sentence and stared down the opposite hallway, the one that led to the other set of stairs that went down to the second level. He widened his gaze and froze all movements, trying to catch on to what he'd heard again.

"What—what are you looking at?" Shikamaru arched a brow at the blond before turning to look down the same hall. He saw nothing and tilted his head to eye the other before looking back at the hallway again.

The other's voice made him wince, did he not hear that? Did he not realize that he shouldn't talk now? Naruto guessed that maybe only he felt that noise was to be avoided.

"Shh..." was all the blond gave in return. He edged towards where they were headed, trying to get out of the line of sight of the hallway as slowly and as sneakily as he could. Some natural instinct he was guessing. He was sure he wasn't acting rationally, but this was the best plan he had right now.

Shikamaru wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but he decided to keep going in the direction. He walked slowly (not as slow as Naruto, but close) feeling like he should, fitting in with the conditions right now.

Naruto had calmed slightly, they were nearly down to the stairs they were going to. Nothing else had made a sound from the other hallway. Maybe he'd make it out without another traumatic event.

Hard patter of feet. Slamming of a door.

Naruto leaped out of his skin. His heart pounded against his chest as his skin crawled and his breath caught. Whatever it was had pattered the fuck _out_ of the door. Where the fucking hell was it now?

He was turned now, walking backwards into the other hall. Shikamaru was in his view, giving him confused and worried looks, but he ignored it, looking past the other to what was behind him, slowly speeding his pace back up. He nearly tripped on the steps, but wheeled around and took them swiftly, speeding towards the other stairs.

Shikamaru tried to keep up, but adrenaline wasn't hurrying him along like it was Naruto so he soon fell behind. Though he was sure the path the other was taking, he didn't want to lose him. The brunet didn't know what was freaking him out so much, but the emotion was catching on.

"Wait, dammit. Where're you going so fast?" but it was lost in the empty space. The only sign of the other was the faint thudding of his shoes hitting the floor. Was that even him? Shit, now Naruto had _him_ paranoid.

Naruto had slowed, realizing he's left the brunet behind. He didn't want to go back, but he didn't want to wait here either. He contemplated making it all the way outside, but that would mean abandoning the other male and the blond just didn't do that sort of thing. He sighed and turned, running back to find his comrade, _fucking good morals_.

The Nara edged across the floor, his steps slowing considerably since he had entered the gym area. When had they slowed so much? He didn't have to be _that_ careful crossing it. His ears were open, listening for sounds, his pupils wide and scouring every doorway and corner. He was so alert and he didn't even know why.

The thudding returned, it seemed from behind him. It was probably Naruto, but what if it wasn't? He had said with sarcastic amusement that he'd wanted to see these things that had the Supervisor so freaked, but when he thought about it, he didn't really want to. Wait, hey now, when had he accepted these things were real? It was just the atmosphere, he was just caught up in the moment.

Still, he hid just inside a classroom just in case.

The blond slowed when he reached just outside the gym room. He should have run into the other by now. Where the hell was he? He craned his neck, twisting and turning his body in different ways as he wandered into the wide, wooden-floored room. In the back of his mind he realized he had sprinted across the weak floor, not too smart on his part, but at least he was okay.

He skirted one of the columns, not realizing he'd almost run into it. He kicked something with a step and bent down quickly to pick up a broken piece of PVC pipe. They used this, but how did it get broken..and here at his feet?

He didn't worry too long with the details. He had a weapon now. He felt a little safer, but where the hell was Shikamaru? He didn't want to call out his name, but figured he had to. Until he heard the creak of a door. Fuck name-calling for now.

Naruto jerked towards the noise. Most of the doors around him were wide open, the dark rooms inside wide and daunting, hiding things that only the building itself knew about. He heard the rapid thump of feet he had heard upstairs again and he yanked his weight away from the direction it came from, immediately reversing his course. Was that a giggle?

Fuck, fuck, fuck, Shikamaru, where are you, you bastard?

The blond crossed into the middle of the room, now viewable from any room nearby, but he could also see every room nearby himself. Whatever it was already knew he was here, it would do better for him to know where it was before it came at him. He held the pipe close to him as if the tighter he held it, the more immune to danger he was.

He was wearing down. His heart had been thumping rapidly too long, his breath kept getting caught and was being held for too long, his muscles had been tensed up for too long. He just wanted to find the other male and go. Why wasn't he showing up?

There was a short couple of pants and something ran behind him.

Naruto leaped across the room, hands flailing outward and the pipe was thrown and forgotten instantly. A loud shout left his mouth and he backed up to a wall between two doorways, eyes darting everywhere for what had just been so close to him. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but his mouth was too dry. He stayed clutched to the wall, chest heaving with shakily drawn breaths.

"Naruto, is that you?" a familiarly dull voice called out. Though it was lower and possibly more broken than usual.

"Yes! Oh fuck! Shikamaru! Where are you?" the blond turned his head towards one of the doorways nearby where it sounded like the other's voice had come from.

Shikamaru stepped nervously from a doorway, edging towards the blond as he also darted his eyes around. "What the fuck is going on? Where'd you go?"

Naruto pushed up from the wall, "I don't know what the fuck's going on, but I was just running ahead. If you kept going you'd have me—"

He was cut short as he caught something in his peripherals that, unfortunately, was caught too late by the other.

The lost piece of pipe zoomed past Naruto, launching itself straight into the brunet's chest. Time slowed as blood slowly splattered from the wound, some shooting up through the hollow of the broken pipe. The blond jumped back, eyes momentarily whirling to make sure another one wasn't aimed at him.

Shikamaru's head turned towards the pipe protruding from his chest, then up to Naruto as he slowly fell to his knees, eyes wide in disbelief. The wound had made pierced straight through the layers of flesh and bone, jabbing his lungs, gashing through his heart. Low grunts were all that escaped his lips as the pain tore through him, shortly followed by a numbing coldness. He blinked a few times at the blond before slumping forward, soon going limp on the floor, a rattling sigh the last sound to ever pass through his lips.

Unable to do anything, Naruto simply watched in horror as someone else died in front of him. Someone he actually had gotten to know. His mouth opened and closed as he fought with himself to say something or do something. The other didn't move once his body hit the floor, the jar of the impact the only motion now and even that had ceased. He realized it was obviously too late for the brunet and panic overrode moral duty and Naruto ran. Ran for his life. Ran across the weak, wooden floor, ran down the debris-coated stairs, ran straight out the door, leaped in his car, started it up and sped away from the building.

The whole way, he was in a daze. Unable to pull any single emotion or thought from the swirling tempest in his head. The only thing guiding his movements was the primal instinct to retreat from the danger on his life. His eyes stayed wide and unblinking, focused on the road. His breath was all ragged panting, alternating between his parted lips and his nose. His heart was beating so hard it almost hurt. His muscles tensed and twitched with the energy running through them, every nerve ending sparking like mad.

Eventually this rush passed and Naruto slowed down, the other thoughts now free to torment his brain. Thoughts of what he was going to do now. How he would ever bring up the nerve to go into that school ever again. The fact that his job was in jeopardy again since his hope at clearing his name completely just died, and he was the only one there. Fuck, what would people think now? No, they didn't have to know he was there.

That settled somewhat and then he had to turn into a gas station. His head fell forward onto his hands on the steering wheel and his mouth fell open as a strangled cry rang out in the closed space of his small Civic. He jerked the car into park and put his hands over his face. The last moments of Nara Shikamaru passing through his head again and again.

He suddenly felt cold and very alone. His adrenaline rush was leaving him and he felt tired too, worn out, like he had spent all day running. He fell forward more against the steering wheel, subconsciously taking care to avoid the horn. He fought off the urge to cry, he didn't like crying. He hated it, it made him feel weak, but even so he felt his eyes sting and he was sure a tear had escaped by then.

Half an hour later, feeling numb and ready to collapse, Naruto pulled the car into Drive and made his way to Sakura's house.

* * *

"Hey, man, you need to get out. I don't want you drownin' on me," came Kiba's low voice, tinged in slight humor. Sad humor.

Naruto kept his forehead pressed against the tiled wall of the shower, only his eyes turning to acknowledge that the other was in there. He had wanted to hide it, tried to hide it, but his friend knew him too well, was right _there_ on the couch when Naruto had came in, blood streaked across his clothes and body completely exhausted.

The brunet had of course leapt up. Obviously there was something enormously wrong. Blood gave off that impression quite immediately.

He had ushered the blond quickly to the shower, helping him undress since Naruto didn't seem willing to (able to) move on his own. There had been a bombardment of questions, none of them met with answers just yet, though they had marched around the blond's mind the entirety of the time Kiba was asking.

Now, he figured, he should probably answer those questions before even he forgot the answers.

The curtain was drawn back and the water turned off. Kiba draped a towel over his friend's head and tugged him from the tub. "Alright, buddy. Just sit down here." He led him further, into the guest bedroom that the Inuzuka occupied, guiding him to sit on the bed. He settled down beside him, attention turned to his best friend who still had that not-quite-there look in his eyes, something very rare for the blond. _The last time I saw that look was—_

"Shikamaru's dead." Naruto stated very plainly. Like it was just a fact of the day, a final score of a sports team (a losing sports team).

Kiba blinked a few times, he wasn't prepared for that even though he knew it had to be something pretty heinous. There had been blood.

"What?...How?"

"Pipe. Straight through his chest. Came out of fucking nowhere. I dunno how it happened besides that," the blond continued to just stare forward, not looking at anything. "I lost sight of him because I heard feet. Running. I ran ahead, but I lost him so I came back and it just...happened. Right after I found him...."

"Jesus. What the fuck's going on?" Kiba asked more to the air than to the young man beside him. He didn't expect him to know.

Naruto turned his dull eyes onto the brunet, red outlined with purple was draped beneath them, lining the bottom half of his socket in a half-moon shape. "He was going to help clear my name. Now he's dead. How's that gonna look." He snorted bitterly and his short-lived grin was just as callous. The blond turned to look back down.

"Don't worry about that, man. They gotta know you didn't do it. It'll be fine. We'll worry about it tomorrow, okay? It's too late now and you just witnessed somebody die. Take a nap. You want any food or drink or anything before?"

"No, thanks," Naruto replied and he moved to get up, but was stopped by a hand on his arm.

"You can sleep in here. I don't mind," Kiba rose, leading the blond to the head where he could slip in the covers. "Just put on some boxers first. I don't want your junk rubbing where mine goes." He tried humor though it was met with indifference. He sighed and grabbed a pair he had taken from the other guest room, handing them to his friend.

Naruto grabbed the ones handed to him and slipped them on, not saying anything. He tensed only slightly when he was pulled into a hug. He blinked a little, life glinting slightly in his eyes before he hugged Kiba back gently. It was rare for the other male to even offer something like that and here he was shoving it on him.

The blond pulled back when Kiba did and pulled on as big a grin as he could manage (as he could fake). He didn't like people worrying about him, it wasn't their job, their responsibility. He could take care of himself. "I'll be fine, dude. A nap sounds great, but if you could bring me some water, that'd be cool too."

The brunet squinted his eyes against the burning in them and nodded, happy to get away before the first tear slipped past. "Sure, I'll get you some water. No problem." He quickly walked away, pinching his temples as he did, but that didn't keep the tears from flowing. He knew when Naruto was faking it.

The covers were tugged back, Naruto sitting down and into the sheets as he waited for Kiba to come back with the water. He didn't really want it, but if he asked for it, maybe that'd lessen his friend's worry. Darkened blue eyes focused on gently sun-kissed hands, not taking them in. He wanted to call Sasuke, just hearing his voice would help, but he was tired. Very tired.

"Hey, here's your water," a voice said softly.

Naruto snapped his head up, he didn't realize he had drifted off. He took the water, taking a long sip and put it down on the nightstand. "Thanks, man, just..go watch TV or whatever. I'll be fine," he smiled up at Kiba. The brunet having been watching him with curled brows.

"You don't have to fake it, I know you're hurting," the brunet said and Naruto looked down.

"I'll be okay, alright? Just..if the police or anybody talks to you before I wake up....I wasn't there today, yeah? There'd be no way to clear my name if they knew I was the only one there with him," the blond said, eyes momentarily lifting to the wild ones above him.

"No problem, get some sleep," Kiba replied with a hidden sigh, ruffling the golden locks before stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him. He didn't know what to do when the other got like that. It was heartbreaking even for someone like the Inuzuka. So like the blond, Kiba hid his emotions from his friend, crumpling in front of the door he had just exited, face instantly buried into his hands.

Naruto shifted in the covers as he got comfortable, just focusing on sleeping, escaping into unconsciousness. Things would be better after he woke up, they usually were.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not or will I ever own Naruto. (even if i wanna)

A/N: Chapter Threeee now up.

Things turn absolutely shitty for our favorite blond 8D

Warnings: NaruSasu(**YAOI**) undertones. Tons 'o' **Character Death**. I tend to like to get more violent with my descriptions of some things, so there's that: **VIOLENCE** fff. For you pervs, there WILL be some sexytiem eventually.

Critiques appreciated.

* * *

  
A muffled groan slid past russet lips as a tanned arm groped blindly for the source of the noise. Fingers curled around a vibrating object and brought it up to the main body, flipping it open and putting it against an ear peeking from the messy strands of gold.

"..........hello?" was the husky greeting.

"Hey, did I wake you?" Sasuke replied.

"Mmmyeah, it's okay though. It was just a nap. You know how much I hate those, heh," Naruto said as he rolled over, back of his head on the pillow now as he wiped at the corners of his eyes.

He heard a snort, "I just got off of work. Decided to call. You seem to be busy a lot lately."

"Mm'sorry, I told you things'd get like this," the blond yawned, stretching his free arm out to the side before curling it behind his head.

"Mm. It's okay,"

"Everything cool?" Naruto asked, sensing a shortness in his fiancé's voice.

Another snort, more amused though, "Things are fine. You?"

"Mmmm pretty crappy. Watched a guy get killed right before my eyes by a rogue PVC pipe after hearing footsteps and giggling and he was my only way out of suspicion too. Sucks," Naruto groused, stretching out his legs.

There was a long silence, "You seem to be taking this pretty easy."

"Not really, it hit me hard, cupcake. I'm just...I don't know...blocking it out right now I guess."

"You shouldn't do that," Sasuke sighed, "If you need to talk, you can. I want you to."

"I'll be fine, 'specially after I got to hear your sexy voice," a grin turned the corners of the blonde's lips up, the first real one since he got home.

Sasuke snorted in reply, "Usuratonkachi. Don't try to change the subject."

"I love it when you talk Jap to me," Naruto purred in reply.

"As long as it makes you feel better, but really Naru—"

"Oh, I'm feelin pretty awesome right now,"

"Hn," the initial reply was short, but the blond could hear the amusement laced in his lover's voice. "Well hopefully you can come home soon to make me feel this 'awesome,'" Sasuke had given up on getting the blond to talk.

"I'll see. With all that's happening, my break can be veryvery soon or very far away from now. It depends," Naruto said, scratching at his scalp.

"Hmm.." a short pause, "Did you get that text problem fixed?"

"Uhh..oh yeah," the blond rubbed at his chest, "Yeah I have no idea what the problem is. I think my phone's just going braindead. I'll see if I can get an upgrade the next time I have the time, alright?"

"Mm, alright,"

"Hey, I'll call you later okay? I think I better get up. I've had a lot to do lately. I wish I could talk to you more, but yeah, I need to get this Shikamaru thing cleared up," Naruto said as he sat up.

"It's cool. Call me whenever you get the time. I'll have my phone on me," Sasuke's voice had a slight echo to it, _must be in the bathroom_, "I love you. Later, Dobe."

"See ya, Babeh. I love you," the blond clicked his phone shut, setting it down before he ran both palms over his face. He knew talking to Sasuke would make him feel better. If he did get fired, at least he could go home to the Uchiha. Spend a few days doing nothing but eating amazing cooking and watching movies. Leisure time before he got back on his feet and found a new job. _Now _that's _thinkin more like an Uzumaki_. Naruto grinned to himself before perking up at the sound of a voice.

"...Yeah I know, but you also remember what happened barely four months ago as well, right?....Yes....yes I know it's not gonna get far..can you just—......right. Okay..good...thanks," he heard Kiba sigh and click his phone shut.

Sliding off the bed, Naruto ran a hand through his hair, working out any cowlicks. He stretched his arms out behind him with a grunt as he walked to the bedroom door, opening it and stepping into the living room.

"Everything alright?" the blond asked before going over to the fridge to grab a can of coke, scratching idly at an itch on his groin before readjusting himself.

"Isn't that what I should be asking you?" Kiba replied, sitting back on the couch and peering over the back at his friend.

Naruto took a first sip after popping the top, "I'm fine. I just needed some sleep."

"Right," the brunet said, turning back to the TV, annoyed that once again, Naruto was hiding how he really felt. It used to annoy most people that Naruto was always unusually happy, but a few of them learned soon that really, there was no way he could be truly that happy all the time. Even fewer still got to see the blond when he couldn't put on his default personality anymore, couldn't hide behind his mask, when it was too much for him to handle. Kiba was one of these few, so he knew when there was something more. Especially now when he personally would be nowhere near as okay with this as Naruto was acting. It pissed him off because it felt like his best friend was refusing his help.

Naruto wasn't though. He just got tired of depending on other people to help them. He made it his responsibility to be the cheery one, even when times got rough. Be the strong shoulder to lean on. It ran over even into times like this, when he was really the one most needing support.

After a while, half of the can was drained. "So who was that on the phone?"

"Asuma. He needs to see us tomorrow in his office," Kiba replied dully.

"Did you tell him anything?" the blond asked, slight dread creeping up on him.

"No, don't worry. He has no idea you were there. Luckily Shikamaru was always very vague with people when he had to be somewhere,"

He felt a bit of relief, but there was still something tugging on him, "That's good, but why does he wanna see us?"

Kiba turned full in the couch, cocking his head to the side, "Really Naruto. We're both the supervisors in charge of that site. Somebody just died on it. Don't you think that's reason enough for him to want to see us? I mean especially when it was one of our own guys and someone with a decently high position too. We're gonna have to get somebody to replace him, and that's gonna be tough. Shikamaru was a genius at what he did."

Naruto shrunk away, embarrassed slightly at how right Kiba was and how dense he'd been to not even think of that. "Yeah...that makes sense. Sorry."

A dark brown brow arched, "You've been acting weird lately. 'Specially since you came home not even two hours ago, you were freaking out and quiet. Now you're all chipper and happy-go-lucky 'Oh, what? A guy was just killed in front of me. That sucks.' You don't need to hide things with me, Naruto. I've seen you worse off before so there's nothing to feel you need to be more of a man about."

Frowning, Naruto took another drink before he replied, "It still bugs me, okay? I'm not hiding anything. I'm just...I don't wanna dwell on it—"

"Naruto!" Kiba shouted, louder than he meant to, but at least it got the other to pause. He sighed and ran a hand roughly over his face. "Look, man, it's hurting the both of us more if you hide things. Stop acting like it's okay. It's _not_ okay!" He brought his gaze up to the other; an almost desperateness shone in them.

"I..." Naruto started then closed his mouth, looking down at his can. He couldn't make eye contact, it was making his resolve crumble. "Just let me deal with this how I want. I didn't even know Shikamaru that well, he's not worth us both fighting like this," the blond said with a light laugh, looking up at the brunet.

Kiba opened his mouth to retort, "This is about more than just Shi—" the only words he managed before the door swung open and Sakura stumbled in, overloaded with groceries. "Hey, guys, a little help please?" she said with a grunt.

Both men instantly got up to help her unload all the bags into the house. It didn't take long and Naruto shut the trunk before carrying the final packs of soda into the house, glad that he had something to distract him and Kiba from whatever it was they were getting into earlier. He set them on the counter and then started helping Sakura with putting some into the fridge.

"Wow, what a day," she started. "So I walk into class and the teacher just looks at me and so I get confused and look around and there's _nobody_ there. Hah, I forgot that we had no class today. So of course I'm embarrassed and I kinda nod and leave the room quickly," she paused to toss a bag of chips to Kiba who placed them on top of the fridge. "Gave me enough time to study in the library before my test in Anatomy class. I'm pretty sure I did okay on it. I finished pretty early so I decided to go out and buy a few groceries for us, since we were running low," the girl continued on about her day, placing all the boxes and cans where they belonged.

"Well that sounds great. I'm sure you made an A though. You always do, "Naruto stated in an amused tone.

"Not _always_," Sakura retorted with a snort, "And it's not my fault I actually take the responsibility to study every now and then, unlike you two who barely made it through by luck." She smirked and looked up at the two men.

Kiba gave her a playful glare, "Hey, now. At least I did better than _this_ guy here," he said, jabbing a thumb towards the blond, the mundane quaintness of Sakura's day seemed to have made him forget about his and Naruto's almost-confrontation earlier. "I think if it wasn't for you, he'd still be there, trying to gain enough credits to just get his degree."

"Alright you two, let's just drop this, okay?" Naruto said, narrowing his eyes at both of them.

"Says the guy who made mostly Ds in Algebra 101. How do you even do that?" the Inuzuka said with a snicker, putting the cookies out on the counter by the fridge.

"Hey, I told you that the teacher was retarded. She didn't even know how to use the freakin math program we had to use on the computers. Plus she didn't like me. She never learned how to say my name right."

"Hah, nice excuses, Nafreelo," Kiba said before he chuckled.

"How in the hell did she get that from my name? Half of those letters aren't even _in_ it!" the blond said, throwing a hand up to exasperate his point.

Sakura sighed, brushing past them to relax on the couch. "I don't know, but really, that's old news. Will you ever let it go?" she said, turning in her seat to gaze at the two in the kitchen.

"Hey, I'm not the one who brought it up this time," Naruto said, pointing over at the other male still arranging the cereal boxes.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Nafreelo. Chill your ass down. It doesn't matter anymore," Kiba said, giving Naruto a coy grin.

"How was your day?" Sakura asked, voice raised over the two idiots' bickering, making the other two go instantly silent. "....Not too good I'm guessing."

Kiba gave the blond a shove. Naruto frowned back at him, "Well, we lost our head electrical engineer today." A hand was brought up to ruffle through golden spikes.

"Ah, how'd it happen?" Sakura asked, sipping the tea she had poured herself.

As Naruto went through his experience, Kiba distracted himself from the tale by fixing himself some tea. He'd already heard it once and didn't care for another run-through, it only served to remind him about why the two were fighting. His ears only picked up on what he hadn't heard before.

"Wow...Naruto. Are you okay?" Sakura said, setting her tea down on the coffee table and getting up off the couch.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was just....crazy...I don't feel safe there anymore. What if it's me next time? Or Kiba..." the blond lifted his eyes to his best friend.

"Hey, man, don't worry about me. I'm better than some dumb shadow or whatever," Kiba said, turning around and flexing a bicep. "They'll have to try a lot harder than random, flying PVC pipes, whoever or whatever they are." Naruto snirked in reply.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto. You can ask to be re-assigned if you're really that worried," Sakura said, wrapping her arms around the blond. "I don't want anything to happen to you two neither."

Naruto returned her hug, sighing against her neck, "Nothing better happen to you either."

"Why would anything happen to me? I've never been to that school," she said, light amusement in her voice. She jerked when another weight pressed against her back, Kiba hugging them both.

"You're like our sister, we're just looking out for you too," the brunet said with a grin.

"Yeah, you're just as important to us as we are to you," Naruto brought his arms up to hug Kiba as well.

Sakura snorted, "You two are getting too sentimental. I thought that was my job."

"Maybe we've been hanging around you too much," the Inuzuka replied, still grinning.

The other two both just snorted, Naruto relaxing more against his two closest friends. The school didn't seem too bad anymore. He'd show it who could still hold his own.

* * *

"Please, take a seat," greeted Asuma, lighting a cigarette.

"Yes, sir," replied the two men, taking a seat each. Naruto fumbled with the seam of his jeans, already nervous from not knowing why their boss wanted to see them. Kiba seemed generally nonplussed, just simply watching the Sarutobi as he took his first drag. He'd probably already been told, but refused to even hint that he had more information than he let the blond in on.

The few minutes seemed to drag on. The man behind the desk, pulling out a few papers and putting them in front of himself, looking them over before he finally spoke.

"Since I've already spoken to Kiba and informed him specifically not to tell you anything, I'm sure you're curious as to why you're here," the larger man said before taking another pull from his cigarette.

"Kinda," Naruto replied, not sure what else to say.

Asuma cleared his throat, idly tapping his cigarette in his ashtray, "Well, thanks to recent events, a lot of people—mainly co-workers and the people funding this project—are getting worried. Now I have had a lot of talks with these people and it took a lot of convincing to just have this as a consequence of the two deaths on this site."

Naruto waited for his boss to continue on baited breath. He couldn't even start to guess what "consequence" the Sarutobi was talking about. Was he going to be fired?

"So from now on, Kiba here is going to be our new supervisor and you'll be taking his place as assistant," Asuma's gaze met the blond's, "I'm sorry Naruto, but that's the best I could do."

Blue eyes flitted over to his companion who didn't return the look, instead he was taking interest in something under one of his nails.

Naruto turned back to face Asuma, "That's alright," He was relieved that he wasn't fired, but demoted? There was a sinking in the pit of his stomach. He suddenly felt very much like a failure, a feeling similar from childhood. Kiba would make a good supervisor, yes, but that was the position that Naruto had fought tooth and nail over for the past ten jobs, making sure he always did his best.

So this is why Kiba kept it from him.

He swallowed, trying not to let his emotions get to him. He had no right to be angry. Shadows or not, fear or not, something had happened on his site and he hadn't taken the authority to put the safety of his men up above his own. While it was too late now to maintain his position, Naruto vowed to make up for it. He was going to stop whatever it was and keep all of his men safe.

The blond stood, putting out his hand which Asuma met with his own and shook, "I'll continue to try to do my best, sir. Thanks ." Naruto kept his face serious, betraying nothing of what he felt. He was going to do this right. He would earn his place back as supervisor by the next job.

Kiba also shook hands with their boss, "Thank you, sir" Then they turned to start to exit the Sarutobi's office.

"You two take care," the Sarutobi said as he waved shortly.

"Will do, sir," the two replied before the door closed behind them.

They walked in silence until Kiba spoke up, "Hey, man. I'm sorry about that. I would've told you, but like he said, I wasn't supposed to."

Naruto didn't look up from his feet, "It's cool. You'll be an awesome supervisor."

"Heh, I'll try, but I have some hard shoes to fill. Most of the men like you better and respect you more. That's gonna be tough to gain for myself," the brunet said with a breathy chuckle.

_The same men that Asuma just said wanted me fired._ Naruto snorted and turned towards his friend, "I'm sure you'll do fine. It's just like being an assistant, just you get blamed for more and are more of the run-to guy."

The Inuzuka grinned in return, not picking up exactly what emotion the blond was feeling; he assumed it was good. It'd be silly to get mad over something like this, "That's...a lot more of a change than you make it sound."

"Well I'll still be there. I'm not going anywhere. I'll just be the lowly assistant," the blond returned, pushing the front door of the office building open for both of them.

"Maybe your 'shadows''ll take more of a liking to me now, since I'm the one in charge," Kiba joked, hoping that wasn't really true. Didn't matter that the shadows weren't real, they could be.

"Heh, maybe."

* * *

Unlike before when it had taken nearly a week to restart construction, it had started back in a few days. It helped that not many of the workers knew nor worried with the details of their pausing. Most of them just worried with getting the work done for the day. Most just assumed it had been for the time taken to promote Kiba to supervisor. The higher ups and those that simply held the talent of figuring things out were the only ones who were the least bit knowledgeable of what had really happened.

"Dude, how do you _do_ it?" Kiba asked in an exasperated tone before he moved a clipboard to his mouth, hands too busy signing papers in the second. Heads of certain teams were all around him at the doorway to their small work-trailer asking for certain changes in plans to be approved and making other suggestions, such as an early lunch.

"I dunno. I guess it just works with my ADD," Naruto said from where he was slouched over blueprints, making the adjustments that Kiba had requested. It was a lot less demanding as the assistant, or maybe that was just because his brown-haired friend wasn't pushing as much of the work off onto him as most supervisors did. Whatever it was, Naruto wasn't enjoying it much. He got distracted too easily without there being four things at a time that he was supposed to be doing.

"Maybe I should hand over some of this stuff to you then," the Inuzuka replied with a low groan. He stepped inside and fell back into his chair as the men that had come to see him left with a wave and shut the door.

"If you want to, I don't mind," Naruto said, erasing a mistake he'd made.

Kiba rolled his head against the back of the office chair to eye the blond, "What's with you lately? If it's about me getting your job, then man, you need to really chil—"

"It's not. I'm fine, really," Naruto said with a grin, "I'm just trying to make sure I get these right."

The brunet continued to eye him for a moment before a rough snort left his nostrils, "Yeah sure. You're fine and I'm King Arthur." He turned to look up at the ceiling, "Well, Mr. Fantastic, do you mind running to the house to pick up our lunches? It's about that time."

"You sure you'll be able to handle it while I'm gone?"

"I'll manage."

Setting down the drafting tools, Naruto stood with a stretch, rolling his kinked muscles and returning the blood flow to normal after being stuck hunched over the plans for so long. "Allrighty then, but remember you can call me if things get too rough for ya'," Naruto wiped at his nose before pulling his keys from off the table and heading out the door.

"You remember to keep your phone _on_ this time," Kiba replied, turning in the chair to grab up the office phone that had started to ring.

Naruto sighed as he walked down the short, wooden ramp that led from their trailer, work boots thudding against it. He hadn't meant for it to happen, but things between him and Kiba had been strained lately. Maybe it was just the stress. Normally Naruto could deal with something like this, no problem. He also seemed to be telling himself that a lot lately.

What was going wrong with him? Were these weird events really affecting him that much?

He shrugged it off, shaking his head briskly to toss the stray bangs that were tickling his nose.

No, he was fine. They seemed to be over anyway. There hadn't been anything since the Shikamaru incident. He had felt like he was being watched a few times and there had been that time that he thought a dark figure passed by his doorway, but those could be just passed as him being too paranoid, too ready for the next event.

He got into his car, distracting himself from recalling _those_ memories. Buckling himself up and pulling out, he drove the short distance to Sakura's house. There were always a couple of sandwiches waiting in the fridge. Sakura made them in the morning between classes when she made herself lunch, specifically because she knew that the two knuckleheads tended to forget to make it themselves and were going to spend themselves broke on fast food if she didn't do something about it herself.

A grin spread across the blond's lips as he flipped his turn signal on. _She's gonna be one heck of a wife for some lucky guy._ That is if he didn't kill the guy first for doing anything funny. _Probably why she rarely gets boyfriends,_ he thought with a low snicker.

Sakura had always been a sister to the three of them. Even Sasuke had gotten close, the stoic man not seeming to enjoy the attention of many people. So any person that got through his barrier was special. Sakura _was_ special. She'd come a long way since Naruto had first met her in middle school, but she had always held a certain charm. That charm remained with her even as the four of them grew up.

There was no way they were going to let anything happen to her.

Naruto paused his thoughts, pulling into the driveway. He stepped out and shut the door behind him before walking up to the front door and unlocking it.

The house was empty, as he expected, and held the same eerie quiet that it seemed to reserve just for him. There was no way he was in danger though. Even if those shadow-things were intent on killing, they were in the school. He'd heard of vengeful spirits haunting a particular person rather than a building, but he really couldn't think of why any dead people would be holding a grudge against him. Yeah, he was fine.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. It shut much too loudly for his tastes, though he wasn't sure why he wanted to be quiet. He was in no danger, after all.

The fridge opened with its usual slap and he reached in to grab the bags that their sandwiches were in. As he pulled them out, he jerked with a low squawk as his phone suddenly blared his ring-tone and vibrated in his pocket. Naruto quickly placed the sandwiches on the counter and shut the fridge, pulling his cell up to his ear after checking to see who was calling him.

Sakura's voice rang out over the small distance between the phone and Naruto's ear, "Hey, Naruto, can you do me a favor?"

Bringing the phone up, he replied in a bit higher tone than he meant, still jumpy from the sudden overload of his senses, "Uh..sure. What is it?"

"Where are you right now?"

"At your house," the blond said, arching a brow in curiosity.

"Perfect. I'll be running there between classes. I forgot my homework for Astronomy lab. Can you go ahead and put that out on the coffee table for me? So I don't have to waste time looking for it in case it's not where I put it?"

"Yeah sure, lemme go into your room and you tell me where you think it is," Naruto said, pushing off from where he had rested against the counter before walking to her bedroom. He walked in, past a full-body dummy woman that he assumed she'd gotten for a class. There were parts of her cut away to reveal her inner organs. It looked like it was used for anatomy or something. A new addition to the room as far as his knowledge went. Its dull gaze loomed at him from its plastic face that caused the hairs on the back of his neck to prick upwards.

"Okay it should be in my desk, on the right side under some folders I think," her soft voice drew his attention away from the creepy mannequin and he went to looking where she directed him.

Pulling open the single drawer on the right, Naruto pulled up the folders she had mentioned and found the Astronomy handbook hiding beneath, "Found it."

"Good, now put it on the coffee table and I'll be there in a while to pick it up after you leave," Sakura sounded obviously pleased.

Naruto caught her before she hung up though, "Hey, Sakura, when'd you get this mannequin-dummy thing?" He turned back to the plastic woman. The eyes seemed to watch him from the opposite wall and were giving him the creeps, but he figured that's how they were made.

"Huh?"

"This–i'm guessing—anatomy doll thing. It's on the wall opposite your desk," he stepped towards it, tilting his head. The lights were playing tricks on him again because he could have sworn it was following his movements.

"Naruto, I don't have any kind of mannequin-doll," she replied very plainly.

Blue eyes grew impossibly wide as he stared at the doll, daring it to move while he watched, but also hoping it didn't take the challenge. He backed up quickly, guiding himself with just the instinct of how the room was set up. He refused to let it out of his sight until he was far enough away, "Wh-wh-whaddya mean 'you don't have one.' I'm looking right at it." His mind instantly whirled towards the direction of what he was pretty sure was going on right now.

He stopped once he was outside the doorway and ran a hand up the side of his face, gaze not leaving the figure across the room.

"I mean I don't have one, Naruto. Are you sure it's not Kiba's?"

"Why would he have one?" Naruto nearly spat into the phone. He wanted to get out of the house, but he didn't want to lose sight of the doll. Instead, he rocked from one foot to the other, debating.

"Naruto, calm down. I'm sure there's some reason it's in there. Maybe Ino left it after a study session and I just forgot. I'll be there in a few, try to stay calm," though her words attempted to calm him, he wasn't swayed by the anxiousness he heard in her voice.

He jerked as he realized he had looked down, he didn't mean to, but he did and when he looked up...the damned thing was gone. Just like he knew would happen. He knew it. He _fucking_ knew it.

Naruto started twisting around, ignoring the voice that started to get louder from the phone, Sakura nearly screaming at him to answer her after his long pause. He dropped the phone as his gaze caught what he was looking for, the same mannequin with its dead gaze locked onto him. Though instead of it being in Sakura's room, it was at the doorway of his own bedroom.

A hard shiver rang through his body as his mind instantly went to defensive procedures. His muscles momentarily tensed up and his breath caught. He was sure this was the same as in the school, but..but...it wasn't supposed to be. He was supposed to be safe.

He watched it carefully, trying to figure out how it had gotten over there and if he had a good chance to get outside the house. A creak dashed through his thoughts and his eyes widened as the mannequin slowly turned its torso towards him.

There was not much more movement before Naruto had bolted towards the front door, throwing himself out, but not before looking back and seeing the jerky, unrealistic movements of the mannequin following after him. He let out a shout and yanked the door closed behind him. Tripping over his own feet, he backed rapidly into the front yard before falling.

He paused, breath rushing in and out of him as he watched the door in a locked gaze. His arms and legs were shaking and he felt a cold sweat starting on his brow. He didn't hear Sakura drive up, he only acknowledged a presence when he felt hands grab his face as she squatted in front of him.

"Naruto. Naruto, what's wrong? _Naruto!_" Sakura yelled, shaking the blond roughly.

He blinked and turned his focus to the fiercely shining green irises before him. His brow wrinkled lightly before he replied in an almost choked voice, "The doll-thing..it was after me. It chased me out here.."

Delicate brows knitted as Sakura fought back a sigh, "Naruto, there's no way that a 'doll-thing'—that I'm not even sure I have—'chased' you outside."

"It shouldn't be here. Why is it here? I was supposed to be safe," Naruto looked at Sakura, an almost desperateness to his eyes that worried her, "It wasn't supposed to be here! Only at the school.."

"Naruto, snap out of it!" Sakura shouted, slapping him hard across the face. She hadn't meant to be so rough, but he was starting to scare her. She merely panted while she waited for reality to snag her friend and pull him back; waited for what he'd say.

A hand slowly rose to his cheek as he looked from the door to the ground to the girl sitting in front of him. He caught his breath as his mind was jarred free and allowed to think about something other than the thing that had chased him outside.

"I'm sorry," she said low, eyes darting down before locking with his again. "I didn't mean to hit you." Sakura leaned forward, dragging the blond to her and into a hug.

Naruto returned her hug and allowed her to try and smooth away the anxiety from what had just happened. Her hands felt nice on his back and he finally dropped his gaze from the door. He wasn't sure what to say, she'd probably not believe him no matter what he said. So he decided to keep quiet.

After a while, Sakura pulled back, "I need to get to class soon, Naruto. I'm already late. So I'll just step inside and grab my book okay? You wait here."

"_No!_" Naruto shouted, hands tightening around her lithe arms. "You can't go in there. You'll die!" That was the trend that went with these freaky events and he was not going to let the—whatever it was—get Sakura too. _Not this time..._

She sighed, unable to hold it back, "Naruto...it's just a mannequin...that I'm not even sure really exists. What can it do? Now let me go, I can't be any later to class." The stern look on her face fixed onto Naruto before she yanked herself from him.

"Okay...okay...but if _anything_ happens, you call for me and run straight out here," Naruto returned with his own stern expression, catching her eyes to show he was serious. He knew Sakura was stubborn and he shouldn't be giving in, but maybe this time, as long as he didn't run away, things would turn out for the best.

Sakura smiled lightly, ruffling his hair before she stood, "Alright, but I really don't think there's anything to worry about." She felt silly, motherly, and foolish trying to calm Naruto down. She hoped she was right and there was nothing to worry about, but she knew the blond didn't get _this_ freaked out easily so there had to be a good reason for his fear.

Though, there was nothing else she could do about it, she really did need to get to class.

"I'll go in and grab my book and be right out, I'll definitely let you know if anything 'weird' shows up," she grinned and turned towards the house, walking up and grabbing the doorknob. As she did, the mannequin's head peeked past the sheer curtains of the window alongside the front door, slowly, head jerkily fixing upon the young woman.

Naruto's breath caught before he jerked up, limbs flailing as he tried to stand, "Sakura! Get away from the door! It's still in there!"

The rosette turned towards him, a brow arched in concern. Simultaneously, the mannequin's head flitted from sight. "What are you talking about?"

Naruto stopped in his tracks, still watching the window, brows curling as he waited for it to make a reappearance. He wanted it to, so maybe she'd believe him, "It was in the window."

She turned her head to look in the window, leaning her body a bit so she could see better. Seeing nothing, she turned back, a hand perched on her hip, "Really, Naruto. There's nothing there. Stop scaring me."

"I'm not lying! Let me go in there with you, I don—" Naruto attempted before he was cut off by a hand in his face.

Sakura hardened her gaze on the taller male, "I'm fine, okay? It's right inside the door. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but she pressed her finger against his lips before turning and going inside, the door shutting behind her.

He pulled his hands up to run through his messy locks, wondering if he should risk the Wrath of the Haruno and follow her inside anyway. It was better to get punched if nothing happened than for her to end up dead if something did, right?

Though he didn't have to make that decision for himself as a scream pealed from the other side of the door, or what he was sure was the other side of the door. The sound seemed to come from all around him.

Naruto wasted no time thinking about where it _might_ have come from, though. He was certain he knew where it had come from, and that location needed his presence right then. Hands instantly wrapped around the doorknob, turning it to open it. However, the damn thing was stuck, so Naruto raised a leg and jabbed his heel at the door roughly until it did open, slamming against the opposite wall.

"Sakura?" Naruto shouted into the thick air of the living room, rushing inside the house. The lab book wasn't on the coffee table, but Sakura was nowhere to be seen either. A rough chill ran up his spine as he continued to search the house, looking in the kitchen, Kiba's room, his room, the bathroom, repeatedly calling her name. Finally all that was left was Sakura's room and he ran in there. It was the last place, _she has to be in here._

He wasn't met with pink hair and green eyes, instead he came face-to-face with the same thing that had sent him outside the first time. The blond leaped back as he almost ran into the mannequin, the thing who's face wasn't the dull gaze from before. Instead it had morphed into a thing unlike anything Naruto had seen before. Sockets lacking eyeballs and curved, razor-sharp, drastically tapered teeth lined its mouth which was tugged up into an inhuman snarl was what greeted him.

He couldn't move backwards fast enough.

Tripping over the back of the couch, he landed on the coffee table, the piece of furniture crushing under his weight and splintering beneath him. Widened eyes remained focused on the direction of Sakura's room as his hands fumbled for a large enough piece of shattered wood to use as a weapon.

His fingers curled around a table leg just in time for the mannequin to round the end of the cough, a low rasping sound coming from its toothy maw. Naruto rolled backwards, leaping up to his feet as it lunged at him. He jabbed the wood into the junction of neck and shoulder, the makeshift-stake slipping in easier than the blond expected.

The mannequin-creature let out a shriek and backed off, but Naruto wasn't going to let it escape to wherever it had come from. He jumped forward, tugging at its arm and pulling out the wooden dagger before jabbing it into its chest. Eyes hard with fury, he stabbed at it multiple times, blood surprisingly spurting from the wounds before he allowed it to crumple on the ground.

He stared at it, watching for any jerk, any motion. His heart thumped wildly in his chest and he could still feel the cold sweat stinging his skin, adrenaline burned through his veins. "Fuck," he bit out with a seethe, tossing the wooden spike down at the thing. The blond took heavy steps across the remains of the table, heading towards Sakura's room with a slightly wobbling balance.

"S-sakura?" he said in a choked voice, body still recovering from the encounter. He turned into her room and looked around, hand pressed against the door frame for balance. "Sakura, it's okay. I got it...I'm here." A loud sigh left his parted lips as he continued to scan the room for any signs.

Finally deciding she wasn't just going to walk up to him, Naruto fully entered her room. He turned around the foot of her bed and froze. Beneath him laid the horribly marred body of Haruno Sakura.

A short gasp escaped his lips as he fell to his knees beside her. Shaking hands reached out, tugging her limp form over to himself. She was dead, blood coating her clothing, staining the carpet beneath her. He was too late, he should have gone in with her. _I am such an idiot._

A choked sob left his mouth as he turned her face over in his arms, hands pushing the strands of pink-dyed hair from her face. She'd been dying it that color since he could remember. He was sure her natural color was dirty blonde, but he never saw for himself. He wouldn't be able to see for himself.

His brain was a tempest of thoughts, emotions. This wasn't supposed to be real. It was the stuff you saw in movies. Things like this didn't happen to real people. He should have gone in sooner. He should have saved her. Why were there things like that mannequin, that shadow, whatever had been running around in the school. Those things weren't supposed to exist, they were imaginative things that people came up with for stories to scare their drunk friends.

He buried his face in her neck, like he'd always done when she was comforting him. What was he going to do now?

Nobody would believe him, not even Sakura had. He knew that he couldn't stay here. The cops would pick him up and they were sure to believe him even less than his own friends. He was definitely not going home to Sasuke, there was no way in hell he'd bring this upon the most important thing in his life.

He sighed, breath catching on the sobs that were frequently causing his body to quake, tears dropping onto the girl beneath him. Whatever he did, he needed to do it quickly.

As much as he didn't want to, he released Sakura, setting her down gently back onto the floor. He reached in his pocket for his phone, which he didn't find. Of course, he'd dropped it earlier. Knees popping, he raised himself and walked outside the room, but only found the shattered remains of what used to be his phone. _Shit..._

He figured it was a bad idea, but desperately needing a phone, Naruto went back into the room and reached into Sakura's pocket, pulling out her own. He flipped it open and picked out Kiba's number from her contact list. Tearing at his bottom lip, he waited for the brunet to answer.

"Hey, baby-doll, what's up?"

"Kiba, Sakura's dead," Naruto winced as he said that. It wasn't the best way to start things and it only served to hurt him more as if saying it made it more true. His gaze drifted to the body beneath him, but he covered his eyes with his free hand, forcing himself to look away.

"Wh....what? Am I hearing things right—are you playing some kind of joke 'cause," the brunet let out a nervous laugh that was a tone higher than his normal one, "that shit isn't funny, Naruto."

"I am not joking, Kiba! Why the hell would I joke about something like that? At a time like this especially!" Naruto shouted back into the phone, brows furrowing in anger.

There was a long silence from the other side. The blond drug in a shaking breath, about to say something before he was cut off.

"Are you..serious? What the fuck happened?" the Inuzuka's voice came out strained, gravely convinced.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Naruto said with a sigh, walking from the room. He rested against the arm of the couch. He tried to calm himself down through another pause in their conversation.

"Tell me anyway. I wanna know what the fuck happened to her," the brunet's voice cracked, it was obvious he was breaking. His voice tapered off at the end, from probably pulling the phone away before he openly sobbed.

"She was...coming to get a book for class. I was picking up the sandwiches when she called and—and...I saw a mannequin. I asked her if it was hers and she said she'd never seen it. It chased me outside where she found me and then she went inside to get her book and I heard her scream; I came running and I had to fight it, but," a sob escaped the blond's lips, "it was too late. She was already dead. Kiba, she's dead," another sob left him and he covered his mouth, head ducking as he fought against the tears.

There was a long silence from Kiba's side, "I'm sick of this weird shit. What the hell's going on? Why the hell is it going on?"

"Like I fucking know!" Naruto snapped. His lips trembled and he covered his face with his hand, rubbing at the flesh roughly.

"Chill, dude. I know you don't know. I just—this is really hard to swallow," Kiba said before giving a quavering sigh. "You need to get out of there before the cops find you...I can't believe she's dead..." There was another moment's silence as the two finally let it sink in that one of their closest friends was dead.

"I know..it's....hard on me as well...," Naruto cleared his throat, "I'm...checking into a hotel. I'm not telling you where though. Because if this..thing—whatever it is—is after me, I'm not letting it get you too. Tell the cops I disappeared or whatever if they ask anything. I'm not sure what else to do about that." The blond huffed out a sigh, hand raking through gold locks.

"Man, you better tell me where you'll be. I'm not letting you go through this alone, but I'll make up some bullshit for the cops if they ask. You get somewhere safe and I'll see you after my shift at work is done."

"I'm not. I'm ending this tomorrow night. If I end up dying..well...at least you and Sasuke'll be safe. I've gotta go. I'll see you when this is over. Thank you, Kiba. You've been the best friend a guy could ask for," Naruto clicked the phone shut before the other could retort. He took in a deep, lung filling breath before standing. He wasn't sure how, but he _was_ going to end this. No more people were going to get hurt because of this thing—ghost shit or whatever it was.

He walked past the tattered door and got into his car, reddened eyes giving Sakura's house one last look-over. "I'm going to get them for you, don't worry," the blond said to the body inside, jabbing the key into the ignition.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not or will I ever own Naruto. (even if i wanna)

A/N: Final chapter. Per a previous reader, i was told to add this warning in as well: Be wary of reading this chapter if you are mentally unstable. (idk but 8D)  
YAY LAST CHAPTER! It's been fun pfff |D

Warnings: NaruSasu(**YAOI**), more **Character Death**, **VIOLENCE** fff.

Critiques appreciated.

* * *

After dialing Sasuke's number for the hundredth time, Naruto cursed and threw Sakura's phone against the wall of the hotel room. The battery pack popped out the back and it fell in three pieces. The blond glared heavily at it. _Why isn't that bastard picking up his phone?_

He threw himself backwards on the bed, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. There was the chance that somethin—no, he wasn't going to let himself think that. Sasuke was fine, just probably busy or some shit. Naruto winced. Sasuke seemed to be busy a lot lately. Were they drifting apart? Was it his fault?

A loud growl erupted into the stillness of the air before it was muffled by the sole resident pulling a pillow onto his face. He really needed somebody to talk to. His mind was being racked full of a lot of things to think about and he wanted to let some of it off by distracting himself with company. It was hard, he didn't want to think about anything. He huffed out a breath. He couldn't though, whoever he talked to would be in danger too.

Throwing the pillow off, reddened blue eyes turned to look at his leftovers from earlier. Not even eating had helped. The thoughts kept piling higher and higher. Memories stabbed at his gray matter, making his eyes well up with more of the tears he didn't want to let loose.

He turned his head to the opposite side, staring at the window with the partially opened curtains and what he could see of what was beyond that. The light was low outside and tinted with the typical colors of a sunset. Had he really been lying around this room that long?

A sigh hissed through his nose and he let the lids drift down over his eyes. He needed to think of what he was going to do tomorrow. What could he do to get rid of this bastard of a ghost-thing? He didn't know of any priests and even if he did, would an exorcism really do anything? Maybe he should find a psychic...maybe he should stop thinking like a moron. What the hell was he getting at, there was no way those people could do anything. This was all on him. He had pissed off whatever it was; he was going to get it back.

Maybe if he destroyed what it had come from. Yeah, that should work. Then where could it draw whatever retarded ghosty-power it had?

A proud smile curled his lips lightly as he drifted off into sleep, free of shadows and mannequins and dying friends and demoting bosses and bastard fiancés who didn't answer their phones.

* * *

A door lightly thumped against the bumper set up on the wall, unknown to the man asleep in the bed. Bare feet padded lightly against the short carpet, taking the owner straight to where the blond was still snoring lightly. Slender digits slid up the muscled, tanned arm making the skin jump beneath their soft touch.

The bed creaked silently when another weight settled onto the mattress. Another set of fingers drifted along where the orange work-polo had slid upwards, exposing a line of sun-kissed navel.

Naruto grunted, being gently pulled from whatever dream-sludge his mind had settled into. A hand rose to scratch at whatever was tickling at his stomach and his brows furrowed as it bumped into something hard and warm. His fingers curled around it and he felt the light hairs spread across what he decided was flesh.

His lids cracked open but his eyes were soon obstructed by a thin strip of fabric; he felt the fingers that had been on his skin working behind his head to tie it on snugly. Brain still sleep-logged, he wasn't too worried about not knowing who this person was. In fact, in the back of his mind, he was sure he knew who it was.

The fingers that were curled around the warm arm drifted higher, wrapping around a smooth column and tugging at it. The other complied and knelt down, placing a heated kiss on his lips. Naruto groaned into the kiss, tilting his head as much as he could to make it deeper.

While their lips pressed against one another, the hand that was not being used to steady the unknown figure slid higher, pushing more of the warm-colored garment up. Even though the room was chilled, the fingers on the blond seemed to burn with a fire he hadn't felt in so long, making his skin twitch with the need to feel more.

The teasing digits pressed into his chest and slid down, dragging short nails against his torso, making their way down to easily work away the fastenings of Naruto's jeans. Weight shifted and both arms of the male still lip-locked with the blond were free to move, deftly moving down both denim and the cotton boxers.

His body felt heavy, mind was still lodged in some of his weariness. His eyes were covered so he was only allowed to feel, smell, taste, listen. He felt like he was floating in whatever feelings these were, free of anything he'd worried about before.

A low hiss whispered from his nostrils when those fingers wrapped around him, moving, tugging him back to what his guest was giving him. There was a dull throbbing in his temples, but it was ignored to focus on the pleasure tingling up his spine. An unexpected pinch to a nipple, had him arching, breaking away from the heated mouth.

Arms heavy, he slid one up what he could feel was a thigh, skirting along the juncture of hip and leg thanks to arm length. The body above him moved, an almost silent gasp coming from the lips that were hovering somewhere above him. He grinned in response.

He heard a soft noise come from above him and felt the bed move more as the other settled down on Naruto's thighs, the person's own settling along either side. The hand wrapped around his length continued to move, fingers teasing him further along. His own hand that was curling into lean muscle, tugged, bringing the warmth closer to the blond's mouth. He nipped at the skin, at the pulse, then brought his lips around it, sucking and biting and lavishing attention onto the spot.

Another gasp left the other's lips, a hand was pressed into the pillow that Naruto's head was nestled against. The blond groaned in return, the taste of his visitor nipping at his taste buds in a familiar way.

Weight shifted again and he felt the hand on him still, but was soon greeted with why when he felt himself pressing against flesh that gave way to hug his shaft all the way down. His mouth drifted from the saliva-slickened area and a groan rolled up both throats.

"Sa—suke."

The arm on the other's shoulders slid down, hand cupping a cheek that he was sure was shining in the dim light from the city outside. He brought his lover back to his lips, the plump flesh pressing heavily together. The other hand tightened around the thigh it held a grip on, worried that now that he had made this realization, the other male would disappear.

The weight remained on him though, his fiancé now moving on him, his own hips rocking with the familiar rhythm that had been set. His fingers combed through curled, thick hair, wrapping around Sasuke's length, stroking it firmly in time with the male's rising and falling, giving back the pleasure he was receiving.

A tongue peeked from the blond's lips, meeting the lips against his and passing through them to delve into the heated cavern. He felt air brush against his face and felt a groan come from his partner, making his lips turn upwards.

Soon his lips were met with nothing but air, Sasuke leaning back to focus only on giving Naruto everything. The blond moaned openly, no more pale flesh or soft lips to muffle it against. His fingers tightened, another groan that he felt more than heard coming from the both of them.

Their movements took him even more away from reality, his body turning its focus to feeling and doing, kinetic actions that were all for giving to the body above him. It felt like he was slowly sinking into the feelings that had held him suspended just above their depths for so long. He gave in completely and felt a release spark from all of his nerves.

Consciousness was being pulled under again. Words were whispered onto his skin, all of his flesh tingling with the silky resonance.

"I'm always with you."

* * *

A hand groped into the air, expecting to land onto a warm shoulder, but finding nothing but cold emptiness.

Naruto grunted, peeling his eyes open and was surprised that he could see. Blinding morning light gleamed mockingly at him through the curtains that were still parted.

He sat up, rubbing at his face. The covers fell away, revealing he was only in his boxers. His head throbbed again and he frowned. The amazing encounter of the night before turning out to be just a dream. _An amazing let-down._ Breath slipped through his nostrils as he tried to piece consciousness together again from the obvious unreality of the night.

Turning his body, he slid his legs off the bed. He needed a shower, he smelled like sweat, blood, and yearning. He frowned at his feet before turning to look at where he had tossed the cellphone yesterday. It was still there, in the three pieces.

The blond stood and walked the short distance, crouching down by the little piece of technology to put it back together. He held the power button and watched as the phone lit up. The main screen showed up and he frowned as the only missed calls and text messages were from Kiba, demanding that the blond tell him where he was.

He dialed the voice mail, deleting the first two from his loud best friend. He was about to delete the next, but then he wasn't met with the boisterous yelling. Instead, he had to turn up the volume from the side of the phone, ears straining to pick up on the faint voice that wasn't coming in quite clear.

He heard whispers, a light sob, whimpering. Then a loud scream pierced through the receiver making the blond fall back onto the floor, dropping the phone where the screaming and shrieking continued to peal through the phone. He slapped his hands on it, quickly flipping it shut and ripping the battery back out.

Pants shook through him, body struggling to keep up with his now-racing heartbeat. He stared at the phone that was back in pieces on the floor, ears still ringing with the sound of shrieks and screams. He shook his head, hands raising to rub at his ears.

After a while, he finally stood back up, undressing as he walked towards the bathroom. Hot shower, that's all he needed now.

He shut the door to the bathroom behind him, pushing back the curtains, only thinking of what could have been behind them after doing so. The hot water hissed through the shower head and he twisted the cold on as well to make the temperature bearable. Then he stepped in.

As much as he enjoyed the faint scent of what smelled like Sasuke on his skin, all it did was tease him. It _wasn't_ Sasuke's scent. It was just his mind, still immersed in his dream. What he was really smelling was his own want for his lover. The other smells hitting him were painful reminders of what had happened yesterday.

_Sakura.._

A loud thump sounded through the small room as the blond's fist landed heavily against the wall of the shower. He wanted to go back, to save her. To just leave this place, find himself in Sasuke's arms, Sasuke in his arms. Both Kiba and Sakura safe in their homes. That's what he wanted, what he needed.

Blond locks clung to his face as he moved forward, pushing his face into the heated spray of water.

Naruto felt stronger than before though. He could do this. He knew how to do this. It was going to end. He was going to be free. Kiba would survive and Naruto would go back to Sasuke, refuse to renovate anymore. That is if he could get out of being arrested for murder and then arson.

Arson. He was going to burn that school down. Cleanse this area of it. Cleanse his life of it.

Darkened eyes fixed on a spot on the wall, brows angled downwards dangerously. He was going to repay this entity for the pain it caused him. Burn its soul in Naruto's self-made version of perdition.

_Burn in hell._

* * *

The sun gleamed on the horizon, letting out its last rays before being dowsed by the earth that was pulling it in. The clouds reflected the colors, mocking the burning sphere's sad attempts at staying above ground.

Gas cans rattled in the back seat. Matchbox rested comfortably in the front passenger seat. Blue eyes stayed fixed on the road, filled with the determination and his single goal. He ignored the rear view mirror. The empty sockets glaring at him from the back.

"I'm done being scared of you. If you're going to kill me, do it now," Naruto narrowed his eyes before chancing a glance into the mirror, snorting bitterly when he saw nothing.

He pulled up onto the gravel, the sun now completely drowned in the steadily deepening blue of dusk.

Slamming the car door shut after he got out, the blond turned to open the back seat, jerking when a shrieking shadow lunged at him from the open door. He grinned as it dissipated into the air.

"It's too late to stop me," he muttered, grabbing an armful of the cans. He stalked across the grass, past the work trailer, past the dead construction machines. A foot was banged roughly against the new door for the entrance of the school and he set down the cans, turning to get the rest when he froze. A silhouette in the door.

"How'd you know I was here?" Naruto said with a light grin, pushing past the brunet.

"I just know you well enough," Kiba replied, putting his hands in his pockets as he followed the other. "So how are we doing this? Burning the whole place down I see."

"'We're' not doing anything. You need to get out of here before you get hurt," the blond said, shutting his door as he grabbed the remaining things. He walked past the Inuzuka again, going back into the building and putting the cans down with the others.

"You can try, but you're not getting me to go away that easily, buddy," he bent down and grabbed one of the cans. "At least you'll have company in prison."

Naruto snorted, watching his friend as he started to unscrew the top from the gasoline canister. "Fine, but I'm not saving your ass when Bubba comes to rape it. And this is all _if_ we survive this."

"You're still alive. I'm not gonna be any easier to kill," Kiba stood, giving his friend a wide grin. "I'll start in the auditorium."

The blond smiled in return, taking his own can around and down into the renovated basement. There was a chill as he remembered the crude "Treasure Trove" that used to adorn the protruding ceiling that rested on the columns. He could almost hear the tinkling light tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel" playing again. Maybe that's because it was.

He shoved the tools and cords out of his way, not needing anything that could potentially ruin his footing once he started this. Then he turned the gas can fully on its side, emptying the strong-smelling fluid all over the sawdust-covered floor.

The blond shuffled backwards, making sure to leave a nice trail of the stuff in the room before exiting it, tossing the can to the side once it was empty. Shadows played on walls, morphing and turning, flitting across doorways. He felt weak tugs to his clothing, whispers of children pleading with him. Naruto just furrowed his brows, ignoring them.

Kiba walked up to get another canister about the time Naruto did, "I'm almost finished in the auditorium. We just need to get the main floor covered, the rest'll catch since the fire'll rise and catch support beams."

Nodding in return, Naruto turned towards one of the staircases. "We need to get up here though since there isn't a floor beneath that area over there."

"Oh yeah, this thing's on a hill. Lemme finish in here. I don't want you going up there on your own," the brunet said giving Naruto a firm look that told him he meant it.

"Fine, but hurry up. I want this over and done with," the blond sighed, growing more antsy as the courage he had built up was slowly wearing. Not from the shadows that were still rolling along walls, but from how long Kiba had been in here. They were both sitting ducks.

Kiba snorted in reply and jogged into the large room, finishing up the area closest to the door before doing like the blond and just tossing the jug aside. He walked back in, grabbing a fresh can. "So you ready?"

Naruto lifted his own, "Yeah."

They both ascended the stairs and split, making sure to cover all of the floor, making sure to leave room to walk back down the stairs without stepping in any puddles.

During a sweep of one side, the brunet crossed from one room to another but paused when he saw something glinting from beneath a work desk full of tools. He tilted his head to get a better look at it before going over to find out where it was coming from, thinking it was a bit too shiny to be a normal screw.

Having not noticed his friend crossing the room in front of him, the blond continued to cover the smaller school rooms. He narrowed his eyes at the layers of dust, the discarded children's book.

_Trying to reclaim it for yourselves, huh?_

He backed from that room and started to walk towards the next. However, Naruto stopped in his tracks as a familiar tune hitting his ears. His ringtone.

"What the hell?" he set the can down and walked over to where a pushable power saw sat. He bent down and looked for the familiar lights of a cellphone. Why the hell was his phone here? He remembered crushing it at Sakura's house.

"Hey, man, I think I found something you'll want," Kiba said, voice obstructed since he was under a heavy desk. He grunted as he ducked further under the large piece of furniture, arm struggling to reach behind a heavy toolbox to grab at the thing that continued to glint, it was teasing him the fucker.

Kiba's voice was met by deaf ears however, Naruto having found a phone, a dark blue Motorola Razor. Sasuke's?

Pushing the answer button, he put it up to his ear warily. "H-hello?"

Two voices chimed in at once to answer him, one a hard scream, the other a harsh whisper.

"Let it go."

The blond jerked, tossing the phone to the side and standing fast. He stared at the object that continued to ring, vibrations causing it to jump along the floor. One of those voices had sounded dreadfully familiar.

"Hey, man! I said I found something you'd want. Your fucking engagement ring, hah! Of all the times!" the brunet said, "but it's a bit far under here, I almost got it though."

Naruto smiled a bit, pleased at the good news but his good tidings was cut short.

A loud whine pierced the air and Naruto whirled around to find the power saw on. Eyes widening, he leaped at it to turn it off, but it lurched forward, out of reach. The wheels spun, the blade spun, making a beeline right for the desk that Kiba was bending under.

"Kiba! Fucking move!" The blond shouted as loud as he could, already running after the huge piece of equipment.

"But I almost go—ah hah! Got it!" Kiba said joyfully. He started to crawl backwards and was nearly from under the desk when the power saw caught him.

Though Naruto knew he was shouting so loud his lungs would give, everything was silent. He continued to run, even though it was too late. The teeth of the blade easily cut through flesh, tendons, and bone, removing the man's head completely from his torso. Blood cascaded, being kicked in all directions by the whirling blade and the heart still pumping blood, not catching on to the fact it lacked an autonomic control now.

A sickening thump echoed through the silence, then another as first head then body hit the floor. Limbs contracted madly, nerves spasming from suddenly loosing their control centers. The ring rolled along the floor boards, coming to rest inches from where the blond finally halted.

The whine died as did the blade's spinning, the machine coming to a dead rest beside the carnage.

"..F-fuck," the only word the blond could form came out in a croaked voice. He felt his legs give and he collapsed onto his knees, a hand pressing across his mouth as the other felt blindly for the ring that had landed near him. Fingers curled around the tiny metal object finally and he brought it up to look at it through glazed eyes.

"Wh-why didn't you listen to me? _Why didn't either of you listen to me!_" Naruto yelled, voice cracking and screeching around the syllables as he fell forward, fists banging against the floorboards.

"Dammit. Dammit. Dammit-DammitDammitdammitdammit. _Dammit!_" he shouted out the dark mantra, fists beating into the floor with every word. A loud sob escaped his lips and he curled his arms to him, hands wrapping around his face.

He was so close. They were so close. Then...

Blond locks shook as he lifted his head roughly, glaring at the building as a whole though he was only looking into the depths of one room. "Fuck you! Fucking take me already! Stop taking them! Stop being a pussy and fucking go ahead and _kill me!_"

Silence held the air captive.

Naruto shouted wordless sounds, growling openly into the darkness, fists firmly at his sides. His head ducked again and he sobbed, tears flowing freely in trails down his cheeks. He winced as pain numbed his extremities, cut into his chest with a wickedly blunt blade.

Hand clenched around the ring in his left palm, he ripped the matches out of his back pocket with his right. He forced the box open with his teeth and pulled one out, striking it against the side.

"Let's play a game, huh? See if you can get me before I light this fucker up," he grinned maliciously at the dark, rising up to his feet slowly.

He heard the walls creak and he bolted towards the stairs before a beam could catch him. "You have to try harder than that!" he yelled into the air, still running across the floor before taking the stairs two at a time.

His eyes darted down just in time to see the same ball that had rolled to his feet months before, roll to them again, catching one and forcing him onto his face at the base of the stairs. He landed heavily, a loud grunt escaping his lips.

He rose up on an arm and was pleased to see the match was still lit, fire struggling to stay alive as it clung to the bright wood of the stick. Grinning, he spat, blood welling up in his mouth from where he'd bitten his tongue.

Before he could work on getting to his feet, a piece of scaffolding toppled over, crushing a leg. Naruto let out a strangled growl, biting his lip in a weak attempt to ease the pain. Glaring at the crumbled wood, he shoved it off his leg and forced himself up onto one foot.

"Not good enough," he said in a tattered voice and started to hobble towards the exit, tossing the match behind him as he did. It landed into a pool of gasoline and instantly caught, flames racing over the streams of the fluid into all of the places the blond and brunet had covered.

Screams filled the air, shrieks and whimpers and curses all stabbing at Naruto's ears. He covered them as he exited the building, falling over and dragging himself the rest of the way on the grass. He winced from the pain in his legs, but still brought the pleased grin as he watched the rest of the building rise up in flames, the gasoline and new plywood just serving as super-stimulants to the inferno.

He brought up a hand, middle finger raising. "I won you fucking pricks. That's for taking my friends away," the blond gasped out before falling back. It was not long before he heard sirens in the distance. _Time to take a vacation in prison._

As long as there was a sexy raven to visit him. That wouldn't be all that bad.

He snickered to himself before slowly allowing consciousness to drift from him. The pain in his leg forcing his body into a shock that it wanted to escape.

* * *

Darkened blue peeked from under his lids as the owner came to. He frowned at the stark white of the room he was in and closed them again. Grunting, he rolled, facing away from the bright light that was coming through the window.

He groaned, willing away the thoughts that started to slowly pool in his brain since he was now conscious. Scents hit his nose and he figured he was in a hospital, that's why it'd been so bright. His arms extended, trying to stretch, but he found one hindered by hard metal. A handcuff?

Naruto peeled his eyes open, frowning down at the metal cuff linking him to the side-railing of the hospital bed. Then his eyes drifted higher, taking in dark colored pants. He raised his eyes, catching sight of dark bangs, hanging like curtains and obstructing all but the nose of his guest.

"Heyy," the blond croaked out, throat constricting angrily as he tried to swallow after the greeting. It felt like he swallowed shards of glass.

The head turned, inky locks shifting sideways with the momentum. Naruto was graced with the face he hadn't seen in over two months. A smirk slid onto pale lips as Sasuke looked his fiancé over, "Hey."

"You drive all the way here just to see me?" Naruto teased, "I feel kinda special."

Sasuke snorted lightly in return, "You didn't call."

Wheat brows lowered slightly, "You didn't answer."

"I'm here now," the raven said, eyeing the bed-ridden male. "You look rough."

"Well I did just go through hell," Naruto said before sighing. "Too bad Kiba didn't make it. I can hear him now, bitching me out for pulling such a retarded stunt and risking him at the same time. Even though he's the one who volunteered." He lowered his eyes, focusing on where he started to pick at the loose threads on the hospital blanket.

Sasuke looked up but stayed quiet as a doctor walked into the room, giving Naruto a grin and pulling over a wheeled chair.

"Hello there, Naruto. I'm your doctor, just call me Dr. Tsunade," she gave him another pleasant smile and looked over the charts in her hands. "How are you feeling today?" she asked, eyes darting up from the clipboard though her head remained ducked.

"Fine, I guess. My leg's killing me though," he said, pulling an arm up to scratch behind his head.

"Well that's to be expected after you had a pile of wood fall on it," she gave him another smile, though the pleasantness seemed to fall out of it.

The dark-haired male at Naruto's side quirked his lips, but didn't say anything.

"Well once you're all recovered in here, they'll be transferring you to your nice holding cell. You seem really nice for a murderer-slash-arsonist though," this times her eyes remained on him, a cold gaze boring into him and making his heart sink.

"I may have burned down that school, but I didn't kill those people," the blond said sternly, giving her a steady gaze back.

"The police seem convinced you did. I'm not supposed to involve myself much, but I've never been good at following orders," she arched a brow. "Your friend, Sakura, was under a former student of mine. She was interning under her in a different hospital. Your prints are everywhere in that house, Naruto. In blood."

His lips thinned, brows furrowing, "I didn't kill her. She was one of my best friends. It was...a mannequin." Naruto's eyes dropped, conviction falling as he heard how ridiculous his argument sounded.

Tsunade tilted her head, regarding the blond differently than before. She flipped the sheet and popped out a pen from her coat pocket, clicking the end. "A mannequin?"

Naruto sighed, eyes looking over at Sasuke who gave him a small nod in return. His eyes livened a bit and he turned back to the doctor, "Yes. It was an anatomy doll. There were a lot of weird things happening, all thanks to that school. That's why I burned it down, killed the mannequin and all the shadows."

Her eyes narrowed a bit in thought, "What kind of weird things?"

"Look, if you're just asking me these questions because you think I'm crazy, then forget about it," the blond growled, fist tightening around his sheets.

"No, no, Naruto. I'm simply curious," she returned. Sasuke snorted bitterly off to the side.

"Well it started during the renovations. I saw a shadow...it leaped at me and I protected myself. Then they found Izumo's body on the first floor. I kept seeing things in that school during that time too. Shadows on the wall. I heard things like feet running. Saw balls rolling, toys going off without anyone there. These strange things started to follow me after a while, which..is what happened to Sakura..." During his explanation, Naruto continued to look over at Sasuke, the other giving him encouragement through the look in his eyes. At least he seemed to believe him.

"So...ghosts?" Tsunade inquired after Naruto was done. There was nothing inherently different in the look of her eyes though.

"If you wanna call it that, then yeah. I dunno what it was. I even called Sasuke here and told him about it after Izumo's death,"

"Sasu...ke?" she looked up fully from her charts, eyes looking over at the raven then back.

"Yeah, my fiancé," Naruto stated, arching a brow.

She narrowed her eyes again before swallowing and she crossed her legs before leaning on her clipboard, gaze fully on the blond.

"Naruto, there's nobody in here but me and you."

"What?," Naruto said, gaze darkening. Sure Sasuke tended to prefer to be out of sight, but she didn't have to insult him.

"Naruto.." Sasuke started, but Tsunade started speaking as well, her voice louder than his.

"It says here that your fiancé died four months ago. You'd gone to see a psychiatrist about it afterwards remember? I talked to Dr. Jiraiya about it and he said he hadn't heard from you in a while."

The blond stared at her, glancing to the side and finding that the Uchiha was no longer there. He could still hear whispers of his voice, drifting in and out of his range of hearing.

"He what? I what?...That's not ..true!" he started, jerking upright. "I've been talking to him this whole time. Talking on the phone! He called me!"

"Calm down, Naruto!" Tsunade raised her voice over his. "You probably hallucinated all of that. It's possible with certain typ—"

"I didn't hallucinate shit! It was all real! Sakura and Kiba never said anything about it!"

"Naruto, they were told by your psychiatrist not to mention it. You needed time for closure."

"I don't need closure for something that didn't happen! He was ...there.....when I left.." his gaze darkened, eyes falling back to the blanket.

Tsunade watched him for a while, "Are you sure about that, Naruto?"

A tear slid down his cheek and he wiped at it, face loosening in surprise as memories rushed in, seemingly all at once. He saw night, outside. His hands on a steering wheel. Laughing. Glass shattering. Shouting.

He gasped, as he remembered hands being shoved through the windows, forcing the doors open, trying to wrestle the two of them out of the car. They both fought back. Naruto had to give in or...or...

His face lowered, eyes widened as he watched for the second time as a gun was placed against Sasuke's head, trigger pulled, blood splattering over the seat and the blond that was still struggling against his attacker. His mouth open as he shouted the raven's name, watching in horror as his lover was dragged roughly from the car, tossed aside. Tires screeching as the robbers drove off. Pain. He was shot.

"Naruto. Naruto?" Tsunade shook his leg lightly, bringing his indigo eyes up to her.

"He did die, but I—" he jerked his head to the side, eyes widening more as he focused on a young woman with pink-dyed hair stroll through the room. She turned to him with a teasing smile.

"Looks like you got into a bit of trouble there. You're lucky I don't come over there and break your other leg."

"Sakura..you.." the blond stumbled over words before a hand brought his face towards the woman.

"Sakura's dead too, Naruto. They found her body in the living room of her home, over the remains of a coffee table. Stabbed multiple times," the older blonde woman fixed him with a stare, checking his pulse on the monitors to the side.

"I didn't! That's where I killed the mannequin!" Naruto said, jerking himself from her grasp. "It wasn't...her.." Even as he said that, he could see her face, surprise and fear as she watched one of her closest friends raise the wooden leg before stabbing her again.

Her screams rang in his ears, making him wince and cover them.

"I didn't do it!" he shouted, eyes burning with tears that wouldn't fall.

"I see, I think I'm going to need to bring in a different doctor to look over you," she said before lifting his face back up, shining a light into both of his eyes before clicking it off and putting it into her coat pocket.

Heels clicked as Tsunade left the room, leaving Naruto hunched over on the bed, blue eyes digging into the floor through the bed. Sasuke rose from his seat, walking the few steps over and placed a hand on the blond's back, soothing him through the hospital gown.

"Sasuke..wh—"

"Shh, Naruto. It's fine. We're all here now. You're not alone," came Sakura's light voice, the girl sitting in the chair by the window. She rose up, walking over and resting elbows on the foot of his bed. "It's not your fault," she smiled sweetly, making him wince again.

A brunet strolled up to the door, resting against it.

"Yeah, like you'd be rid of us that easily," Kiba said from the doorway. "Hey, buddy, looks like your plan worked, yeah? You look like shit though," he said with a grin.

Naruto turned his head to the raven at his side, not wanting to remember the truth. Dull blue eyes took in the male that seemed so real. There was his smell, the light puff of his breath against his skin. "Sasuke you're really here?" Naruto asked, afraid he'd be let down by the answer, but allowing some hope to creep through his chest.

"I'm always with you," Sasuke whispered into his ear, leaving a chaste kiss against his cheek.

* * *

**The End**


End file.
